BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Departmental Databases

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what use  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC and (ii) ACORN data.

Gareth Thomas: The Department does not make any direct use of (i) MOSAIC data or (ii) ACORN data. The Department has used data that has been extracted by an independent company from M0SAIC for the purpose of segmenting audiences during the National Minimum Wage campaign.
	I have asked the chief executives of the Department's agencies to respond direct to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 9 October 2008:
	The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2008/3618) asking what use (a) his Department and (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data.
	The Agency does not make any direct use of (i) Mosaic data or (ii) Acorn data.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 6  O ctober 2008:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House do not use MOSAIC or ACORN data.

Excel Airways

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he was informed that KPMG had resigned as auditors to Excel Airways Group PLC in October 2006; what steps he and the regulator took to investigate the reasons for this resignation; and if he will set up an investigation into the financial affairs of Excel and the successor XL Leisure Group.

Patrick McFadden: Companies House received KPMG's letter and statutory statement on 31 October 2006, and registered it on 7 November 2006. Companies House performed its statutory function of registering the document and placing it on the public record, but it had no duty, or power, to act on the contents of the document.
	The administrators of XL Leisure Group plc, formerly called Excel Airways Group plc appointed on 12 September, have a duty to make a report within six months to the Secretary of State under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 on the conduct of its directors. In any event, the Insolvency Service, to which the administrators' report will be referred, is considering whether a Companies Act investigation is merited.

Post Offices: Fees and Charges

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what the range in rates of the Annual Service Provision Cost (Franchise Fee) paid by branches of the Post Office is;
	(2)  how many franchised branches of the Post Office pay an annual service provision cost (franchise fee) in the range of  (a) £0 to 10,000,  (b) £10,001 to £20,000,  (c) £20,001 to £30,000,  (d) £30,001 to £40,000,  (e) £40,001 to £50,000,  (f) £50,001 to £60,000 and  (g) £60,001 and above;
	(3)  on what basis the annual service provision cost franchise fee paid by branches of the Post Office is calculated;
	(4)  what criteria are used to set the annual service provision cost franchise fee paid by branches of the Post Office;
	(5)  what the annual percentage increase in the annual service provision cost franchise fee paid by branches of the Post Office was in each year since 2002.

Patrick McFadden: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, managing director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Royal Mail: North West

Louise Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the economic impact on the City of Liverpool of Royal Mail's proposal to close the Coppers Hill mail sorting office; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The decision to close the Coppers Hill mail centre was an operational decision by Royal Mail management. While Royal Mail intends to close this centre, it will be opening three new delivery offices in Liverpool. The Government fully appreciates that the closure of mail centres or other Royal Mail facilities creates uncertainty for Royal Mail employees and their families. I understand that Royal Mail is discussing the impact of their proposals and decisions with employees and will work with them individually to understand their preferences for future employment within the business.

Royal Mail: North West

Louise Ellman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he was consulted on Royal Mail's review of mail sorting offices in the North West; and whether similar reviews are being carried out in other regions.

Patrick McFadden: The Review of the mail centres in the North West is an operational matter for Royal Mail. Ministers were not consulted about the specific decisions taken as it is for the Royal Mail management to decide how to run its operations efficiently. It is also for Royal Mail to decide how and when it should review its operations in other regions.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Construction

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local housing companies will be allowed to build directly managed council houses with secure tenancies and council set rents.

Iain Wright: holding answer 22 July 2008
	The corporate aims and activities of individual local housing companies (LHC) will be decided by local authorities in agreement with their private sector partners. However, in general terms, LHCs are likely to be housing development, and possibly management, companies that build homes having a mix of tenures and types. It will be possible for LHCs to transfer homes into local authority ownership for them to manage and let on secure tenancies at rents set by the authority, if that is what they wish to do.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effects of targeting national indicator 191 on residual household waste on local authorities' propensity to adopt fortnightly rubbish collections.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	No assessment has been made of the effect of targeting national indicator 191 on residual household waste on local authorities' propensity to adopt alternate weekly collections of residual waste. Such decisions are entirely a matter for local authorities themselves.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use her Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Sadiq Khan: None.

Local Government Services: Public Participation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken to encourage local authorities to open their facilities to the public.

John Healey: The Government are keen for local authorities to make available their facilities to local people. How this is achieved is a matter for local discretion.

Mortgages: Repossession Orders

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of how many repossessions were avoided by the Government's mortgage rescue service in 2007-08.

Iain Wright: The Government's £200 million mortgage rescue scheme was announced by the Prime Minister on 2 September. It is anticipated that the scheme will be open for business by January 2009.
	The scheme builds on existing Government initiatives aimed at supporting homeowners in financial difficulty and at risk of repossession. It is expected to assist up to 6,000 of the most vulnerable households, in England, likely to need state assistance were they to be repossessed.

Rodents: Pest Control

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department holds on the number of complaints to local authorities about rodent problems in each of the last 10 years.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	Neither DEFRA nor Communities and Local Government hold any records on the number of complaints to local authorities about rodent problems.

Waste Management: Contracts

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the account taken of competition issues and open tendering in the processes adopted by local authorities in selecting partnership agreements with private sector companies on waste management; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	The procurement of local authority contracts is the responsibility of the individual authority and must follow EU procurement rules which promote competitive tendering. DEFRA's Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme (WIDP) offers PFI credits and transactor support as well as best practice guidance to authorities procuring residual waste infrastructure. WIDP always encourages authorities to structure their procurements to encourage competition in order to achieve value for money.

Waste Management: Liverpool

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with Liverpool City Council on the selection of their private sector waste management partner.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA has not had any discussions with Liverpool city council on the selection of their private sector waste management partner.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Sports: Greater London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public money was spent on grassroots sports in the London boroughs of  (a) Southwark,  (b) Lambeth,  (c) Lewisham,  (d) Newham,  (e) Hackney,  (f) Waltham Forest,  (g) Tower Hamlets and  (h) Greenwich in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Funding for grassroots sport in London is available from a number of sources including local authority expenditure, Exchequer funding from DCMS via Sport England, and lottery funding via Sport England. The following figures do not include funding for national schemes that may have been spent within these boroughs. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. We do not hold information on local authority expenditure in the boroughs listed, but Sport England has advised that the amounts of Exchequer and lottery funding spent on grassroots sports in each borough, in each year of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  London borough/year  Lottery (£)  Exchequer (£) 
			  Greenwich   
			 2003-04 129,551 — 
			 2004-05 343,161 — 
			 2005-06 2,193,000 5,833 
			 2006-07 6,000,000 11,167 
			 2007-08 235,500 — 
			 Total 8,901,212 17,000 
			
			  Hackney   
			 2003-04 — 35,000 
			 2004-05 192,473 176,000 
			 2005-06 — 192,000 
			 2006-07 — 227,000 
			 2007-08 — — 
			 Total 192,473 630,000 
			
			  Lambeth   
			 2003-04 487,916 — 
			 2004-05 3,093,282 — 
			 2005-06 — 85,000 
			 2006-07 293,855 42,490 
			 2007-08 — — 
			 Total 3,875,053 127,490 
			
			  Lewisham   
			 2003-04 551,773 — 
			 2004-05 727,141 — 
			 2005-06 173,165 — 
			 2006-07 — — 
			 2007-08 — — 
			 Total 1,452,079 — 
			
			  Newham   
			 2003-04 785,327 — 
			 2004-05 1,198,251 — 
			 2005-06 146,400 20,000 
			 2006-07 50,000 — 
			 2007-08 1,000,000 — 
			 Total 3,179,978 20,000 
			
			  Southwark   
			 2003-04 3,460,676 29,750 
			 2004-05 318,516 139,152 
			 2005-06 1,312,648 1,210,479 
			 2006-07 1,587,213 1,876,568 
			 2007-08 1,873,956 1,720,985 
			 Total 8,553,009 4,976,934 
			
			  Tower Hamlets   
			 2003-04 419,895 31,667 
			 2004-05 8,414,074 35,000 
			 2005-06 123,650 31,667 
			 2006-07 375,237 3,333 
			 2007-08 2,583,925 — 
			 Total 11,916,781 101,667 
			
			  Waltham Forest   
			 2003-04 3,509,891 48,400 
			 2004-05 2,123,124 4,400 
			 2005-06 697,265 — 
			 2006-07 — 24,500 
			 2007-08 — — 
			 Total 6,330,280 77,300

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel left  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in each of the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on the number of Personnel leaving each of the UK regular armed forces can be found in tables 6, 7,9,10 and 11 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 4 - UK Armed Forces Quarterly Manning Report. TSP 4 is publishedquarterly and the most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 July 2008 and can be found at:
	http://bravo.dasa.r.mil.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=67&pubTvpe=1&thiscontent=20&date=2008-08-28
	Copies of TSP 4 are available in the Library of the House and also at
	www.dasa.mod.uk

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent steps have been taken to assess alternatives to bear fur for use in guardsmen's busbies; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by Baroness Taylor on 29 September 2008,  Official Report, column WA385, in the other place to the noble Lord Corbett.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the armed forces  (a) Apache,  (b) Lynx and  (c) Gazelle vehicles were (i) fit for purpose and (ii) out of service at the latest date for which figures are available.

Quentin Davies: The percentages of the  (a) Apache,  (b) Lynx and  (c) Gazelle aircraft considered (i) fit for purpose are detailed in the following table. For (ii), the term 'out of service' is not used in describing the management of helicopter fleets, however, for the purpose of this answer, 'out of service' is defined as those aircraft which are in the Depth fleet and those which are classified as non-effective aircraft.
	
		
			  July 2008  Fit for purpose as percentage of Forward fleet total  Forward fleet as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Depth as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Effective fleet (Forward fleet + Depth fleet) as percentage of Departmental fleet total  Non-Effective as percentage of Departmental fleet total 
			 Apache AH1(1) 39 73 27 100 0 
			 Lynx Mk3 60 56 28 83 17 
			 Lynx Mk7 64 52 35 87 13 
			 Lynx Mk8 70 57 37 94 6 
			 Lynx Mk9 60 63 29 92 8 
			 Gazelle 87 46 8 54 46 
			 (1) The Apache Operational fit for purpose for July 2008 was 72 per cent. of the Forward fleet. The Apache fleet is exceeding fit for purpose targets in theatre and is fully delivering the required capability. Priority is always given to operational commitments.  Note: The figures shown in the table are the average for the month of July 2008. The number of helicopters 'fit for purpose' will vary from day to day due, primarily, to routine maintenance requirements. Operational capability is measured in terms of flying hours rather than the number of airframes available. 
		
	
	The Departmental fleet comprises the effective and non-effective aircraft. The effective aircraft comprise those in the Forward fleet and those in the Depth fleet. Forward fleet are those aircraft that are available to the front-line command for operational and training purposes. Aircraft defined as 'fit for purpose' are those within the Forward fleet that are considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date at short notice. The Depth fleet are those aircraft which are undergoing modification, depth maintenance and repair, are in storage (including attrition aircraft), surplus aircraft awaiting classification as 'ineffective', or Trial aircraft.
	Non-effective aircraft are those aircraft still on the Military Register which are declared surplus and awaiting disposal and are no longer expected to be flown.

Erskine Barracks

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to dispose of Erskine Barracks, Wilton, on the open market; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Erskine Barracks has been identified for disposal in the Defence Estates Development Plan 2008. A small area of the site is not Ministry of Defence (MOD) freehold and this will be returned to the owner. It is anticipated that the MOD owned area will be disposed of on the Open Market, once the site has been vacated.

European Fighter Aircraft

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to place the order for the third tranche of the Typhoon.

Quentin Davies: Negotiations with partner nations and industry on tranche three are continuing; decisions will be taken once these negotiations are complete.

Members: Correspondence

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department has not written to the hon. Member for Thurrock with details of the plans to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the First World War's armistice on 11 November 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: My predecessor wrote to the hon. Member on 25 February 2008 setting out our initial proposals. Plans for an event to mark the 90th anniversary of the Great War Armistice at the Cenotaph in London on 11 November 2008 are still being finalised but I intend to provide further information to the House next week.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Conflict of Interests

John Austin: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether any Commissioner has withdrawn from a meeting of the Commission or part of a meeting on the grounds of a possible conflict of interest in the last 10 years.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that there have been three occasions on which a Commissioner has withdrawn from discussions in a Commission meeting on the grounds of a possible conflict of interest.
	In addition, the Commissioner who chairs the Boundary Committee for England always withdraws when decisions are taken on Boundary Committee reports and recommendations.

Political Parties: Finance

John Austin: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether he has made representations to the Commission about Parliament's view on the Commissions' work on political donations; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Viggers: I personally have made no such representations.
	The Electoral Commission is always willing to receive the views of Members of Parliament on any aspect of its work.

Political Parties: Finance

John Austin: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that all relevant information on its register of regulated donees is published on the Commission's website for the years 2001 to January 2008 including details of donations received, name of donor, name of donee, amount, type of donation and whether the donation was notified to the Commission on time.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it is required under section 69 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to maintain a public register of donations to regulated donees. The legislation requires that the register includes the name of the donor, the amount or value of any donation and the date the donation was accepted. The register also includes type of donation. All of these entries from 2001 can be viewed on the Commission's website.
	The legislation does not require that donations reported late to the Commission be listed separately in the register. However, since 20 February 2008 the Commission has published a list each month of donations to regulated donees identifying those donations reported late.
	In addition to this information the Commission has also published on its website, and placed in the House of Commons Library, a list of 527 donations to regulated donees reported late since 2001.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Commoners' Association is able to negotiate single farm payments on behalf of its members; and what progress is being made in enabling other associations to establish similar arrangements, with particular reference to Minchinhampton Commoners' Association.

Hilary Benn: At the present time Hatherleigh Moor Management Committee is the only commoners' association that has been able to claim under the single payment scheme on behalf of its members.
	A number of other commoners' associations including Minchinhampton Commoners' Association have submitted requests to make applications on behalf of their members. These requests are currently under consideration.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new cases of non-payment of Single Farm Payment claims since 2005 have been recorded in the last three months.

Hilary Benn: No new cases of non-payment of single farm payment claims since 2005 have been recorded in the last three months.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he will provide financial assistance for farmers using additional fuel to dry grain following the 2008 harvest;
	(2)  what assistance from his Department is available to farmers who have lost their harvest due to extreme weather conditions in 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Government have great sympathy for those farm businesses affected by the extremely wet weather that has hampered this year's harvest. However, the Government do not provide compensation for crop losses as a result of extreme weather or financial assistance for additional fuel used to dry grain.
	Farmers have a range of risk and crisis management methods available, including tax averaging, diversification, some limited weather insurance, crop selection and 'self-insurance' through saving and borrowing. An increasing number of farmers are making use of such tools and DEFRA is continuing to support their take-up, including by sponsoring risk management workshops in partnership with the industry

Animals: Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what means his Department ensures that animals imported into the UK for the purposes of scientific research are free from infectious disease.

Hilary Benn: In general, there are no separate import conditions for animals imported for research purposes. They must just comply with the normal import requirements set out in the Importer Information Notes (IINs), that can be found on the DEFRA website.
	Rabies-susceptible animals imported for research must be travelling to quarantine approved premises where they must remain in quarantine for six months.
	The exceptions to these rules are rodents and lagomorphs (a category which includes animals such as rabbits), which when imported into the UK for research must be licensed by Animal Health and use Supplementary Certification, signed by the responsible veterinary or medical supervisor (or other appropriately qualified responsible person) of the research establishment/premises. This certification states that:
	Prior to the export the rodents/lagomorphs have been in the research/breeding establishment for not less than 15 days;
	The colony has been closed for not less than 15 days or the rodents/lagomorphs to be exported have been caged and separated or isolated from any new introductions for a period of 15 days;
	For the 12 months prior to shipment, the rodents/lagomorphs have been kept in an establishment(s) where no case of rabies was reported for at least 12 months;
	No experiments with rabies or rabies related virus have been carried out in the breeding/research establishment during the 12 months immediately prior to the date of export;
	Showed no clinical signs of rabies on the day of shipment.
	All of the said premises above must hold current Home Office approval and regular veterinary inspections are also required.

Animals: Imports

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the UK has placed a moritorium on the importation of non-domestic animals from non-EU countries, with particular reference to South African white rhinoceroses, in advance of EU-wide agreement on the harmonisation of rules on such imports; which other EU member states have put such a moritorium in place; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: No moratorium was placed on imports of non-domestic animals from non-EU countries. I am not aware of any other member state having placed a moratorium on imports at this time. Harmonised rules on imports of such animals are currently being developed. A new EU directive 2008/73 came into force on 3 September 2008 which amends the EU legislation for imports of non-domestic animals and gives member states the powers to prepare national rules in event of no harmonised rules. Following an inquiry regarding the import of white rhinoceroses, a veterinary risk assessment was carried out, and a licence containing health conditions which the animals must meet to be eligible for import was prepared and sent to the South African veterinary authorities for agreement. We are awaiting a response.

Animals: Imports

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultation he undertook with zoos and similar institutions, with particular reference to the Cotswold Wildlife Park, prior to establishing the moratorium on the importation of non-domestic animals from non- EU countries.; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: There is no moratorium on imports of non-domestic animals from non-EU countries. DEFRA holds regular quarterly meetings with zoos and other similar institutions to discuss matters of interest. Notes of these meetings are available on the DEFRA website. At the last two meetings—one of which was prior to Cotswold Wildlife Park advising of their wish to import non-domestic animals—the development of an EC proposal for harmonised rules was discussed. Since Cotswold Park contacted DEFRA, a risk assessment has been carried out and a draft licence has been sent to the South African veterinary authorities for agreement.

Animals: Imports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the monitoring of wildlife imports;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce illegal imports of wildlife.

Hilary Benn: Together with the Home Office DEFRA has recently approved a three-year financial settlement for the National Wildlife Crime Unit. This is a multi-agency unit which works closely with officers in Animal Health, who form the UK CITES Management Authority, and with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) staff in the UK Border Agency.
	I am confident therefore that the intelligence gathering capability and the monitoring of wildlife imports has been greatly improved and that our ability not only to monitor wildlife imports but more importantly to prevent the illegal importation of wildlife has been greatly enhanced.
	HMRC is responsible for the enforcement of import and export CITES controls at the UK frontier and has a specialist CITES team based at London Heathrow airport. Profiling and targeting activities are included within the team's responsibilities to combat illegal imports. The team also makes an active contribution to work on the UK national CITES priorities.
	In accordance with animal health requirements, animals have to be accompanied by animal health and public health certification as appropriate. Animals are subjected to post-import tests based on risk, taking into account the species and the country of origin.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps the Government is taking to work with producers of free range turkeys to reduce the likelihood of outbreaks of avian influenza;
	(2)  whether his Department has consulted the  (a) National Farmers Union and  (b) British Poultry Council as part of the process it is undertaking to draw up best practice guidelines to reduce the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza.

Hilary Benn: The Government have published extensive advice to all keepers of poultry and other kept birds on the steps they can take to minimise the risk of introducing avian influenza to their flocks. This advice is available on the DEFRA website and in leaflet format. These messages are particularly reinforced during incidents of avian influenza. We have also invited representatives of the poultry sector to work with us on the guidance and encourage poultry keepers to consider the contingency plans needed in the event they do find themselves in a disease control area. We applaud the joint initiative by the British Poultry Council, National Farmers Union, Quality British Turkey and Golden Promise (free range Traditional Farmfresh Turkeys) to produce and distribute best practice advice on housing, sighting, management of flocks and biosecurity for free range turkeys.

Batteries: Recycling

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the percentage of spent batteries which were recycled in the latest period for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: The UK currently recycles 90 per cent. of automotive and industrial batteries and approximately 3 per cent. or 600 tonnes, of waste portable batteries each year.

Batteries: Recycling

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with producers of batteries on EU Directive 2006/66 on the recycling of batteries.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA policy officials have been engaged in informal discussions with battery producers through periods of formal and informal consultation for the past 12 months. Discussions covered the various aspects of forthcoming producer obligations under the Batteries Directive and included the directive's recycling targets.

Beekeeping

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what departmental initiatives are in place to increase the number of honey beekeepers in the North East region.

Hilary Benn: New beekeepers can request a free apiary visit from their local bee inspector, who will provide help and advice. This is part of the National Bee Unit's (NBU) statutory inspection programme for notifiable diseases and pests. The NBU also provides a free comprehensive training and education programme for beekeepers to enable them to develop their skills and become more self-reliant in combating disease problems through improved bee husbandry. In 2007, beekeepers benefited from more than 26,000 colony inspections and an extensive programme of training, including over 600 technical events of which 134 were in the north east region), delivered by the NBU to help improve disease control through good apiary management.

Bees

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department is funding on the promotion of selective breeding of bees to encourage behaviour that will protect the viability of colonies.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA currently spends around £1.3 million per annum on a range of bee health measures to assist the beekeeping sector in England. There are no funds allocated specifically for research on selective breeding programmes.
	However, this issue is addressed in the draft Bee Health Strategy, which has just completed its public consultation. It is envisaged that the strategy will be published in the autumn.

Bees: Diseases

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the resistance of northern brown honey bees to  (a) the varroa mite,  (b) foulbrood diseases,  (c) colony collapse disorder and  (d) small hive beetle.

Hilary Benn: No assessments regarding northern brown honey bees have been made. However, a project studying the genetic basis of resistance pathways in honey bees commenced at the National Bee Unit in 2007-08 and resistance to European foulbrood is currently being studied.
	The cause of colony collapse disorder in the USA is unknown and there is no current evidence to suggest that the losses experienced in the UK are related. However, investigations into cases of colony losses this season where there is no readily available explanation are continuing as a high priority.
	Research into small hive beetle is currently focussed on development of lures to facilitate early detection.

Bees: Diseases

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 1772-3W, on bees: diseases; what further steps he plans to take following reports of further colony losses;

Hilary Benn: The proportion of colonies found dead at the beginning of September was 12.3 per cent. of nearly 23,000 colony inspections. This is slightly higher than at the same time in 2007. The NBU are continuing to investigate reports of significant colony losses as a high priority.

Bees: Diseases

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to make infestation of beehives by the small hive beetle a notifiable condition.

Hilary Benn: The small hive beetle ( Aethina tumida), is a notifiable pest under the Bee Diseases and Pests Control (England) Order 2006 (SI 2006 No.342).

Bees: Diseases

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department is funding on ways to combat the varroa mite.

Hilary Benn: Funding across DEFRA and the devolved administrations on bee health in 2007-08 is around £1.9 million, including £200,000 for research and development. This overall funding includes work to develop sustainable approaches for controlling both statutory and non-statutory pests. This year research projects include work on the taxonomy of UK and exotic honey bee viruses, further details of which can be found on the science pages of the DEFRA website.
	Government investment in research on varroa exceeds £2.2 million over the past 12 years. It is proven that the best way of tackling varroa is by means of a careful programme of integrated pest management, and beekeepers need to learn to control it to protect their bee colonies. The National Bee Unit assists beekeepers in improved bee husbandry, and has produced a comprehensive advisory leaflet on the subject.
	The priorities for future funding will be determined in the context of developing a bee health strategy in liaison with stakeholders.

Bees: Diseases

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of colony collapse disorder affecting the bee industry.

Hilary Benn: The proportion of colonies found dead at the beginning of September was 12.3 per cent., based on nearly 23,000 colony inspections. This is slightly higher than at the same time in 2007. The NBU are continuing to investigate reports of significant colony losses as a high priority.

Birds: Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the animal welfare implications of the types of mesh used in the construction of bird feeders;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking in response to representations received on the risks of certain types of mesh on bird feeders to birds;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the risks to birds of certain types of mesh on bird feeders; what representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA has not carried out any research on the animal welfare aspects of the types of mesh used in the construction of bird feeders or made an assessment of risks to birds of certain types of mesh. I am not aware of any representations on this issue.

Cetaceans: Fisheries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) dolphins and  (b) porpoises died as a result of by-catch in fishing nets in UK waters in the latest period for which figures are available; and what target his Department has to reduce mortality rates in each case.

Hilary Benn: In August 2008 the UK submitted to the European Commission its annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch. The report was produced by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) as part of their scientific research contract with DEFRA and it summarises cetacean by-catch observations undertaken in 2006-07.
	The report states that no cetacean by-catch was observed in the fleet segments designated under Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch in the period of 2006-07. The Annual Report of the United Kingdom to the European Commission on the implementation of Council Regulation 812/2004 on cetacean by-catch is available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/fisheries/conservation/cetaceans.htm.
	This report also includes data on cetacean by-catch observed under the obligations of the Habitats Directive.
	DEFRA and the devolved administrations' fisheries departments published the UK Small Cetacean By-catch Response Strategy in March 2003, which highlights the Government's thinking on how to tackle cetacean by-catch in certain fisheries in UK waters. An update on specific targets and progress to date on implementing the strategy can also be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/fisheries/conservation/cetaceans.htm.

Coastal Areas: Land

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1005W, on coastal areas: land, what powers will be available to local communities to affect the poisoning of the coastal corridor.

Hilary Benn: The draft Marine Bill proposes that Natural England will be able to identify a coastal route and associated coastal margin around the English coast, to which there will be a right of access on foot.
	The Bill requires Natural England to consult affected landowners before preparing its coastal access report which it has to submit to the Secretary of State. The report will include details of the route, of associated spreading room and of any proposals for exclusions and restrictions on access. In addition, the landowner and access authorities will be given an opportunity to make representations about matters in the coastal access reports. The final decision on the route and margin will be taken by the Secretary of State after consultation and representations have been made on any proposals from Natural England.

Cremation: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of implementing Environmental Protection guidance note PG5/2(04) on local authority crematorium fees.

Hilary Benn: The costs of implementing controls over mercury emissions, which comprise the main additional requirements of guidance note PG5/2(04), as amended in 2005, were set out in two consultation papers published in 2003 and 2004, which can be found on the DEFRA website. The 2003 estimate was £55 per cremation, which was substantially reduced when the decision was taken to apply the requirements to only 50 per cent. of cremations.

Crops

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on farmers of the levels of rainfall over the 2008 harvest season; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The 2008 harvest period has been one of the wettest on record with rainfall around double normal levels, which slowed progress with the harvest. The Government have taken action to help farmers in England by granting a temporary exemption from the cross compliance standard to enable them to use mechanical equipment and vehicles on waterlogged soils in order to complete the harvest. We are continuing to monitor developments closely, but it is still too early to make a full assessment of the impact of the wet weather on yield and crop quality.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many notifications  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies made to the Information Commissioner following the loss or mishandling of personal information or data in each of the last three years; and what was notified in each case.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA has published details of the personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its 2008 Departmental Report published on 19 May 2008.
	Before November 2007 the Information Commissioner's Office did not specifically keep records of instances of security breaches.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in Government.

Departmental Databases

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what use  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data.

Hilary Benn: The DEFRA Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours toward the Environment 2007 included both ACORN and MOSAIC in the data coding to facilitate secondary analysis.
	ACORN and MOSAIC datasets have also been used by third parties working on our behalf, for example, for DEFRA-funded research related to perceptions of quality of life.
	Further information is not held centrally within DEFRA and to obtain this would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Home Working

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1079W, on departmental home working, if he will make it his policy to collate and maintain central records of home working by his Department's staff.

Hilary Benn: All staff at DEFRA can apply to work flexibly, including working from home.
	As requests to work from home are submitted on an informal basis for approval within the local business area, we do not monitor applications and we have no plans to change this and collate and maintain central records.

Departmental Information

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what types of data have been sold by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months.

Hilary Benn: Core information produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and its agencies can be re-used free of charge under the terms of the PSI Click-Use Licence which is administered by the Office of Public Sector Information in accordance with the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations.
	Neither DEFRA, nor its agencies, have sold any data or information under these Regulations in the last 12 months.

Departmental Official Residences

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what permanent residential accommodation is provided for use by civil servants in his Department; how many residential dwellings are provided; where they are located; and for what grade of civil servant they are provided.

Hilary Benn: The Department currently holds 14 residential dwellings available for use by civil servants employed within the Department. The residential accommodation comprises houses, flats and shared residences.
	With the exception of a single dwelling in Reading, the accommodation (13 units) is situated at the Veterinary Laboratory Agency research complex in Weybridge.
	The provision of residential accommodation forms part of the Veterinary Laboratory Agency's key worker policy developed to support the ongoing research.
	The majority of staff currently residing in Department held accommodation are at higher executive and executive officer grades, however accommodation is allocated subject to availability and based upon business need.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been seconded to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The numbers of staff that have been seconded out of DEFRA and its agencies to public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in the last five years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 3 
			 2006 3 
			 2007 2 
			 2008 0 
		
	
	The available data do not split the numbers between DEFRA and its agencies.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies have been seconded to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The following number of staff have been seconded to DEFRA and its agencies from public relations or public affairs firms or consultancies in the last five years:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 8 
			 2006 2 
			 2007 2 
			 2008 3 
		
	
	The available data do not split the numbers between DEFRA and its agencies.

Departmental Surveillance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months.

Hilary Benn: Figures on public authority use of covert investigation techniques controlled by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) are published annually by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Intelligence Service Commissioner who each have particular inspection and oversight responsibilities under RIPA. The latest reports were laid before Parliament and copies placed in the House Library on 22 July. The figures provided in the reports are not broken down by individual public authority use of specific covert technique as, depending on the particular technique and authority using it, this could either reveal sensitivities or be misleading. The question of further disclosure for any particular public authority is a matter for the relevant Commissioner.
	I can confirm that DEFRA does not have the power to apply for or conduct intrusive surveillance.

Dolphins

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has commissioned on the  (a) stranding and  (b) death of dolphins in the last three years; and what plans he has to commission further such research.

Hilary Benn: For over 15 years, the Government have funded studies by the Natural History Museum and Institute of Zoology on trends in cetacean strandings and causes of death around the UK coastline.
	Strandings data are obtained and reported by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology and Scottish Agricultural College and Marine Environmental Monitoring. Annual reports of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) are available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/resprog/findings/index.htm
	Under this research contract, not only are all stranded animals recorded, but post-mortem examinations are carried out on some of the animal carcasses to establish the exact cause of death. Abundance estimates tell us populations of studied cetaceans in UK waters have not changed significantly over the past 10 years.
	The research conducted under this contract was renewed last April and runs until 2010 at a cost of over £1 million.
	From 2000 to date, the UK has put over £2 million into researching by-catch mitigation measures and monitoring by-catch on vessels through observers, to try to identify those fisheries responsible for high levels of cetacean by-catch, and mitigation measures that are effective at deterring cetaceans over the long-term and are safe and cost-effective for the industry.
	DEFRA has implemented a comprehensive system of by-catch monitoring under the requirements of the EC habitats directive and under Council Regulation 812/2004. The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) produces annual reports on this research for DEFRA (which are also available on the website). Furthermore, SMRU has recently undertaken research on behalf of DEFRA into the effects of a new design of acoustic deterrent device ('pingers') on porpoise and dolphin distribution. These 'super-pingers' are larger, and therefore, fewer devices are required, reducing deployment problems. We hope to have more details on the efficacy of these new pingers by spring 2009.
	In addition to this work, SMRU has also undertaken a by-catch mitigation research project, which has been looking at:
	Providing updated estimates of marine mammal by-catch for all relevant fishery sectors through analysis of fleet effort data; existing by-catch rate data; and through further monitoring of UK fisheries as determined under the UK's Small Cetacean by-catch Response Strategy;
	Investigating the impact of by-catch and other indirect effects of UK fisheries on marine mammal populations, and exploring ways of addressing the limits to by-catch from a management perspective; and
	Exploring as many research avenues as practicable to search for ways of changing fishing gear design or fishing tactics in order to minimise marine mammal by-catch.
	The final report on this research project is expected to be made available publicly by the end of 2008. A new research contract on this issue has recently been agreed with SMRU and will run until April 2011.

Domestic Waste: Recycling

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the average time per year spent by a household in sorting and recycling rubbish.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 6 October 2008
	 No such estimate has been made.

Domestic Waste: Waste Management

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have reinstated weekly collections of residual household rubbish in the last 12 months  (a) in whole and  (b) in part for summer months according to records held by (i) his Department and (ii) the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Hilary Benn: The information is as follows.
	(i) We are aware that the following councils have made changes in the last 12 months:
	Blackburn with Darwen council has re-instated weekly collections of residual waste within the last 12 months.
	Following trials of an alternate weekly collection service in parts of their districts, East Cambridgeshire council and Rushmoor council have decided to retain weekly collections of refuse.
	(ii) Epping Forest—operates alternate weekly collections and has re-instated weekly residual waste collections over the summer months.
	Gedling—operates alternate weekly collections and has re-instated weekly residual waste collections over the summer months (June-September).
	This summer City of Lincoln re-instated, on a trial basis, a weekly collection of residual waste in the areas of the city that receive an alternate weekly collection service.

Domestic Waste: Waste Management

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities plan to end weekly collections of residual household rubbish in the next 12 months, or pilot such policies, according to records held by  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA and WRAP hold no such records. The records of alternate weekly collections log what collections have taken place, but we do not have a record of local authorities' prospective plans.

EDF Energy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have with EDF; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies paid to EDF in each of the last 10 years, broken down by the purpose of the payment.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. Information on what contracts DEFRA's agencies have with EDF, and how much those agencies paid to EDF since 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. From information held centrally the core-Department's financial system records the following expenditure profile with EDF:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  EDF Energy  EDF Energy Customer Field Services  EDF Energy Networks 
			 2003-04 — — — 
			 2004-05 — — 650,904 
			 2005-06 727,475 1,597 700,586 
			 2006-07 1,098,560 508 329,906 
			 2007-08 175,480 — —

EU Law

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in his Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Hilary Benn: This Government are firmly committed to the importance of the EU in delivering on 21st century challenges. The EU is of central importance to the work of HM Government across all Departments. It is relevant to a wide range of policy areas, and to the work of many Government officials. As such, the specific information requested is not held centrally, and to provide it would involve disproportionate costs.

Fisheries: International Co-operation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of UK fishing in the waters of Western Sahara.

Hilary Benn: Before the UK signed up to the agreement in 2006, the EU took legal advice from the United Nations. It ruled that the EU Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement was compatible with international law. The sea areas covered by this agreement are identical to those covered by the original agreement which was adopted in 1999.

Fisheries: International Co-operation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Joint Committee established under Article 10 of the EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

Hilary Benn: No formal assessment has yet been made of the effectiveness of the Joint Committee set up under the EU Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement. However, officials' experience of the committee to date suggests that it is a useful way of monitoring the effectiveness of the fisheries agreement with Morocco.

Fisheries: Quotas

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of fixed quota allocation units are held by companies and individuals not directly engaged in fishing activities.

Hilary Benn: Fixed quota allocation (FQA) units are associated with fishing vessel licences. Given the way the details of fishermen in possession of licences are recorded, it is not possible to accurately determine an individual or company's holding of FQA units at any given time. Gathering this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Flood Control

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what opportunities exist for demonstration projects to develop solutions to downstream flooding problems; what criteria are in place for funding support either by his Department or the Environment Agency; and what particular assistance may be available to communities in the Gloucestershire area because of the floods in July 2007.

Hilary Benn: The Government's budget for flood management is targeted to achieve the maximum possible benefit. DEFRA guidance directs delivery bodies to consider all options at a catchment scale to reduce downstream flooding problems. In order to encourage the adoption of such projects at a local scale, on 4 July, I announced that £500,000 will be made available to fund a project to demonstrate how land management change can reduce downstream flooding. Outline proposals were invited by 29 August with a view to selecting a number of projects for more detailed assessment before committing funding for implementation. The criteria for this project are that:
	there is a recognised flooding problem that could be helped by changes proposed;
	the scheme will produce multiple benefits;
	project partners are able to secure the land management changes necessary; and
	DEFRA's funding will be supplemented by contributions from other sources where appropriate, recognising multiple benefits of the project.
	In the meantime the Environment Agency is promoting and supporting catchment projects at a local level. For example, the Environment Agency recently assisted Water 21, an environmental organisation engaged by local residents, which was looking to secure funding for works in the wider Slad Brook catchment in Gloucestershire. The Environment Agency provided river and general catchment data, gave advice on the technical aspects of its work and guidance on proposed actions. The project covers a number of aspects including measures to reduce flooding downstream in Stroud.
	The Environment Agency also has a proposal to construct a flood storage reservoir upstream of New Mills Trading Estate on the Slad Brook to reduce flooding in the town. The £500,000 proposal has recently been submitted to the Severn Trent Regional Flood Defence Committee for local funding in 2009-10. The project is competing against a number of other projects in the region and elsewhere. Funding is limited and the projects supported will be selected on their merits against the criteria above. We expect to make a decision in October on which project or projects will taken forward for further assessment before confirming funding for delivery in the new year.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of flood defences in  (a) Morpeth,  (b) Pickering and  (c) other areas affected by flooding in September 2008.

Hilary Benn: Current flood protection varies for different parts of Morpeth, but it is estimated that the average flood defence provides protection against a one in 60 year event. The Environment Agency is currently examining temporary emergency works that may be required.
	The Environment Agency is currently at the end of year one (planning phase) of a four year programme to develop a new scheme to protect Morpeth. Early indications are that an investment of between £13 million and £15 million may be required. The Environment Agency is exploring an accelerated time scale for construction of the works.
	There are currently no flood defences in Pickering. However the Environment Agency has recently supported a bid for funding to look at the possibility of reducing flows in the watercourse through tree planting in upland areas.
	The following schemes are examples of where effective flood defence helped communities in the recent September flood event:
	Up to 21,000 homes at River Taff, Cardiff
	Up to 4,600 homes at River Wye, Hereford
	Up to 2,500 homes at River Rhondda, Ferndale
	Up to 2,100 homes at River Birket, Wirral
	Up to 650 homes at Sankey Brook, Warrington
	Up to 630 homes at Cringle Brook, Manchester
	Up to 400 homes at Bangor on Dee
	Up to 3,000 homes In Yorkshire
	Up to 650 homes on the Tees at Yarm
	Up to 600 homes in York
	As a matter of course the Environment Agency will be carrying out a full and systematic review of its assets. All flood defences that were tested will be inspected to ensure they meet the requirements of their design standard.

Floods: Freedom of Information

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information on areas subject to flood risk, held by the Environment Agency, is  (a) freely available to the public and  (b) purchasable from the Agency.

Hilary Benn: Environment Agency flood risk information can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, in most cases, this will be free of charge.

Floods: Insurance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of households which are not eligible for insurance against flooding; what steps the Government plan to take to assist such households; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Flood insurance is included as standard for virtually all household insurance policies in the UK. We have no plans to subsidise flood insurance or act as an insurer of last resort, as it is unlikely to be sustainable or cost-effective for us to do so.

Floods: River Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who is responsible for the maintenance of flood defences on the north bank of the River Humber.

Hilary Benn: The following table shows the responsibility for the maintenance of flood defences on the north bank of the River Humber. It details the length in metres of flood defence protection in each flood area and the organisation responsible for its maintenance.
	
		
			  Area  Responsibility  Metres 
			 Easington and Kilnsea Environment Agency 6,744 
			  Local authority (ERYC) 217 
			  Private 320 
			  Total 7,281 
			
			 Skeffling Environment Agency 4,754 
			  Total 4,754 
			
			 Sunk Island Environment Agency Associated 2,374 
			  Crown 6,025 
			  Environment Agency and Crown 1,054 
			  British Ports 2.382 
			  Total 11,835 
			
			 Stone Creek to Paull Holme Strays Environment Agency 4,503 
			  Crown 7,059 
			  Total 11,562 
			
			 Hull East (including Paull village) Environment Agency 6,603 
			  Local authority (Hull CC and ERYC) 1,875 
			  Associated British Ports 1,736 
			  Private 3,017 
			  Total 13,231 
			
			 Hull West Environment Agency 178 
			  Local authority (Hull CC) 309 
			  Highways Agency 634 
			  Private 6,834 
			  Total 8,403 
			
			 Hessle frontage Local authority (ERYC) 1,578 
			  Private 894 
			  Total 2,472 
			
			 North Ferriby Environment Agency 60 
			  Local authority (ERYC) 831 
			  Railway 1,507 
			  Private 774 
			  Total 3,172 
			
			 Brough Environment Agency 8,640 
			  Private 457 
			  Total 9,097 
			
			 Brough Haven to Weighton Lock Associated British Ports 3,358 
			  Private 144 
			  Total 3,502 
			
			 Weighton Lock to Boothferry Bridge Environment Agency 21,733 
			  Private 2,852 
			  Total 24,585

Food Supply: Animal Feed

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of production for each  (a) food stock and  (b) animal feed stock type in (i) 2008, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2006, (iv) 2005 and (v) 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Information on the level of UK production of the major crop and livestock products for the calendar years 2004 to 2007, in thousand tonnes, which is published in "Agriculture in the United Kingdom", is presented in the following table. It should be noted that the figures for 2007 are provisional and 2008 data will not be published in full until around March 2009.
	Certain items have food uses only i.e. fruit, vegetables, potatoes and all of the livestock products. Peas harvested dry and field beans are used for animal feed only. In the case of sugar beet and oilseed rape, these are processed to make sugar and oils respectively which are used for food and it is the by-products (pulp, molasses, meal/cake) which are used for animal feed. Cereals have a dual use for food and animal feed. The approximate proportions used within the food and animal feed sector are given in the second table.
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes 
			  UK crop and livestock production (a)  2004( 1)  2005( 1)  2006( 1)  2007( 1) 
			 Wheat (b) 15,473 14,863 14,735 13,137 
			 Barley (b) 5,816 5,495 5,239 5,079 
			 Oats (b) 627 532 728 712 
			 Oilseed Rape (c) 1,607 1,898 1,890 2,108 
			 Sugar Beet 9,042 8,687 7,400 7,525 
			 Sugar (c) 1,390 1,341 1,157 1,164 
			 Peas for harvesting dry (d) 176 156 122 80 
			 Field beans (d) 661 705 617 375 
			 Fresh vegetables (e) 2,591 2,737 2,650 2,526 
			 Fresh fruit (e) 294 363 392 398 
			 Potatoes (e) 6,246 5,979 5,727 5,635 
			 Milk - volume for human consumption (e) 13,930 13,839 13,714 13,443 
			 Hen eggs (e) 892 884 853 825 
			 Cattle and calves beef and veal (e) 2,361 2,409 2,702 2,723 
			 Pigs and pigmeat (e) 8,841 8,709 8,731 9,084 
			 Sheep and lambs mutton and lamb (e) 15,493 16,539 16,590 15,979 
			 Poultry and poultrymeat (e) 882 903 880 871 
			 (1) Provisional (a) These figures only relate to UK production and do not include imports or exports. (b) Wheat, barley and oats can be used for both food and animal feed. (c) The by-products from these industries are used in the manufacture of animal feed. (d) Used within the animal feed sector only. (e) Used within the food sector only. 
		
	
	In terms of total domestic uses, which will take into account imports and exports, the approximate proportions of the cereals crops used within the food and animal feed sector are given in the table. The remainder covers other uses such as seed.
	
		
			  Crop  Food  Feed 
			 Wheat 42 51 
			 Barley 35 63 
			 Oats 59 38 
		
	
	A link to the publication "Agriculture in the United Kingdom" is provided which gives access to detailed information on production, supply and use.
	https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/default.asp

Higher Civil Servants

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people his Department employs on an annual salary of over £100,000.

Hilary Benn: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs employs a total of 18 staff on an annual salary of over £100,000 out of a total of 2,900 staff in the Department.

Inland Waterways: Moorings

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many British Waterways licensed residential moorings there are in England; and where they are located.

Hilary Benn: British Waterways directly operates 41 residential mooring sites accommodating a total of 420 authorised residential moorings located on the following waterways in England:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Aire and Calder Navigation 6 
			 Birmingham and Fazeley Canal 7 
			 Birmingham Canal Navigations 87 
			 Calder and Hebble Navigation 13 
			 Coventry Canal 14 
			 Fossdyke Navigation 20 
			 Grand Union Canal Mainline 71 
			 Grand Union, Leicester Line 5 
			 Lee and Stort Navigation 13 
			 Oxford Canal 56 
			 Regents Canal and GU Paddington Arm 86 
			 Sheffield and Tinsley Canal 5 
			 Shropshire Union Canal 3 
			 Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal 7 
			 Worcester and Birmingham Canal 27 
			 Total 420 
		
	
	British Waterways is unable to maintain data on the residential status of privately operated sites.

Joint Waste Authorities

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a list of the organisations that responded to the consultation on Joint Waste Authorities' regulations and guidance.

Hilary Benn: The following is the list of respondents to the Consultation on draft regulations and draft guidance for proposals for establishing Joint Waste Authorities in England. A copy is being placed in the Library of the House.
	ALCO (formerly Association of London Cleansing Officers)
	Ashford Borough Council
	Association of North Yorkshire Councils
	Audit Commission
	Barnsley Metropolitan District Council
	Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Cambridgeshire County Council
	Canterbury City Council
	Chichester District Council
	City of London
	County Surveyors Society
	Cumbria Strategic Waste Partnership
	Dartford Borough Council
	Derbyshire County Council
	Devon County Council
	Dorset Waste Partnership
	East London Waste Authority
	East Sussex County Council
	Environment Agency
	Environmental Services Association
	Essex County Council
	Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority
	Guildford Borough Council
	Halton Borough Council
	Hampshire Collection and Waste Disposal (Project Integra)
	Harrogate Borough Council
	Hastings Borough Council
	Herefordshire and Worcestershire Joint Waste Forum
	Hertfordshire County Council
	Indecon Limited
	Kent County Council
	Kent Waste Partnership
	Knowsley District Council
	Lancashire Waste Partnership
	Lancaster City Council
	LARAC
	London Borough of Croydon
	London Borough of Islington
	London Borough of Wandsworth
	Lewes District Council
	Local Government Ombudsman
	London Councils
	Maidstone Borough Council
	Merseyside Waste Partnership
	Milton Keynes Council
	National Association of Waste Disposal Officers
	Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council
	Norfolk County Council
	North London Waste Authority
	Northamptonshire County Council
	Northamptonshire Waste Partnership
	Nottinghamshire County Council
	North West Leicestershire District Council
	Partnership for Buckinghamshire
	Portsmouth City Council
	re3 Partnership (Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest)
	Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
	Ribble Valley Borough Council
	Rother District Council
	Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
	Sevenoaks District Council
	Shropshire Waste Partnership
	Somerset Waste Partnership
	South London Waste Partnership
	Staffordshire Joint Waste Management Board
	Standards Board
	Stratford on Avon District Council
	Suffolk Waste Partnership
	Swale Borough Council
	Thanet District Council
	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
	Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
	Valpak
	Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Plc
	West Sussex County Council
	Warwickshire County Council
	Wealden District Council
	Wellingborough Borough Council
	Western Riverside Waste Authority
	Woking Borough Council
	York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership
	Two interested individuals (including a waste manager).

Litter: Fixed Penalties

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many litter clearance notices were issued in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what proportion of fines for littering were paid in the last year for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: 119 litter clearing notices were issued by local authorities between April 2006 and March 2007 and in the reporting year ending March 2006, this is the first year that litter clearing notices were available to local authorities to use. Litter clearing notices were introduced by an amendment to the Environmental Protection Act 1990 by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and commenced on 6 April 2006.
	In the reporting year ending March 2006, 54.5 per cent. of fixed penalty notices for littering were paid. In the year ending March 2007, 77 per cent. were paid.
	Detailed statistics about fines for littering can be found on the DEFRA website.

Nature Conservation: Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the Government of Cambodia to reduce the number of primates in Cambodia on the ICUN red list of threatened species;
	(2)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the Government of Vietnam to reduce the number of primates in Vietnam on the ICUN red list of threatened species;
	(3)  if his Department will offer conservation advice and support to the Government of Laos to reduce the number of primates in Laos on the ICUN red list of threatened species.

Hilary Benn: The UK has not been approached to offer advice or support to the three named countries but would consider any approach if one were received.
	In particular, DEFRA supports two funding mechanisms under which conservation projects in these countries would be eligible: the Darwin Initiative and the Flagship Species Fund. To date the Darwin Initiative has provided £65 million to over 464 projects around the world. This includes a project in Vietnam which has specifically provided funding for the conservation of the Hoang Lien Mountain Ecosystem, which included work on primate conservation. The Flagship Species Fund has also supported projects in Vietnam, to conserve the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and the Cao Vit gibbon.

Peat

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the size of world peat reserves in  (a) 1998 and  (b) 2008.

Hilary Benn: We have not undertaken our own assessment of global peat reserves. However, there has been a recent assessment (2005-2007) undertaken by Wetlands International and the Global Environment Centre funded by the United Nations Environment Programme—Global Environment Facility.
	This estimates that global peatlands cover four million square kilometres (approximately 3 per cent. of the world's land area) and is being lost at a rate of approximately 4,000 square kilometres per year. There is no comparable figure for 1998.

Pest Control: Railways

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail on the control of pests and noxious plants on Network Rail property.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA and Network Rail are members of the project board for research into potential agents for the natural control of Japanese knotweed, and both were represented at a meeting about a similar project for the control of Himalayan balsam. However, DEFRA has had no discussions with Network Rail specifically about controlling invasive non-native pests and plants or the five injurious weeds covered by the Weeds Act 1959 on its land.

Poultry: EU Law

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what stocking density maximum for broiler chickens will be used in implementing the EU Broiler Chicken Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: A full public consultation will be undertaken early next year on the regulations that will implement the EU Broiler Chicken Directive, including provisions on stocking density.

Recreation Spaces

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to increase protection of public green spaces.

Hilary Benn: The planning system provides strong protection for open spaces that communities need. Planning Policy Guidance Note 17; 'Open Space, Sport and Recreation' states that existing open spaces and land should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken by the local authority which has clearly shown the open space or land to be surplus to the requirements of the local community, taking into account all the functions that open space can perform.
	PPG17 advises local authorities to make provision for all types of public open space and expects local authorities to undertake robust assessments of local needs and audits of existing open space and to establish standards for new provision. On the basis of these assessments and audits, local authorities should plan to meet future needs of their population (e.g. linked to new housing developments) and can place standards of provision in their development plan. 'Planning Policy Statement 3 Housing' says that local planning authorities should have clear policies for the protection and creation of open space, and new housing developments should incorporate sufficient provision where such spaces are not already adequately provided within easy access of the new housing.
	Where land is registered as a town or village green, the land is protected from development in perpetuity. Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 was commenced in England in April last year, in line with commitments given during the Bill's passage through Parliament, to clarify the criteria for the registration of greens.
	Part 1 of the Commons Act 2006 contains mainly registration-related provisions which allow for the registers to be updated to create an accurate record of common land and greens. Accurate registers will underpin our objective to provide for the protection and better management of commons and greens for generations to come. Part 1 is being piloted from October 2008 with a view to a staged national commencement from 2010.

Sewers: Churches

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what exemptions from charges for  (a) rainwater and  (b) sewage services apply to properties owned by churches; what the charitable treatment of churches is in respect of charges for (i) water run-off and (ii) sewerage services; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 14 July 2008
	Places of public religious worship, and buildings used in connection with them, were traditionally zero rated under the rateable value system of charging, meaning that they did not have to pay surface water drainage (SWD) charges.
	In 2000 the then Secretary of State issued guidance on matters to be taken into account by Ofwat in agreeing companies' charging schemes, including charging non-household users that are not businesses, including places of worship, community facilities, charities and voluntary bodies. The guidance stated that those making similar demands on a service should be charged on the same basis. It also made clear that where premises impose customer-related costs in line with or lower than those of typical households, they should be able to benefit from tariffs which reflect their small demand on the water system. It also stated that the phasing in of any large, sudden changes in charges should be considered.
	Ministers are currently reviewing the impact of these changes.

Sheep: Ear Tagging

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on sheep ear tag inspections since December 2007.

Hilary Benn: From 1 January 2008 to 10 September 2008 we have spent £334,331.22 on statutory sheep and goat identification inspections.

Sheep: Ear Tagging

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department takes to ensure that inspectors planning to carry out inspections of sheep tags on mixed farms take account of the farm year cycle.

Hilary Benn: The Rural Payments Agency Inspectorate plans to complete the majority of sheep and goat inspections during the winter months when livestock are more readily available for inspection. However, due to the number and geographical distribution of inspections required to be completed and competing scheme inspection pressures, a minority of inspections will be completed during the summer months. In these instances the inspectorate endeavours to work with the keeper to minimise any disruption to other farming operations. All sheep and goat identification inspections must be undertaken unannounced, in practice this means an inspector can provide a maximum of 48 hours' notice.

South East

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on services, broken down by type, in  (a) Dartford Borough,  (b) Kent Thameside,  (c) the Thames Gateway,  (d) Kent County Council area and  (e) the South East region in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: Services for which DEFRA has a responsibility are normally provided by local authorities and supported through formula grant administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Formula grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant, where appropriate, is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend this on any service so long as they meet their statutory obligations. Spending decisions for the local areas mentioned are a matter for the local authorities concerned.
	In addition, DEFRA provides some limited direct support to local authorities, such as small capital grants for air quality monitoring and contaminated land remediation. DEFRA also provides funding to the regional development agencies, including the South East of England Development Agency, through the Single Programme.
	Full details of the funding provided by DEFRA to the local authorities named, and to the south east region as a whole, over the last five years, are available only at disproportionate cost.

Stress

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements his Department has in place to assist officials to overcome the effects of stress experienced in the workplace.

Hilary Benn: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is committed to the well-being of its employees. It has a number of procedures in place to reduce stress at work based on the Health and Safety Executive's management standards, and these give easy to use advice on the successful prevention, recognition and management of stress at work.

Trees: Genetically Modified Organisms

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the environmental implications of the commercial production of GM trees.

Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 31W.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which local authorities have received funding from the Waste and Resources Action Programme in the last two years.

Hilary Benn: The Waste and Resources Action Programme provided funding to the following individual local authorities, or local authority partnerships, during the two years of their third business plan (April 2006 to March 2008):
	 Individual local authorities
	Adur District Council (and Worthing Borough Council)
	Amber Valley Borough Council
	Arun District Council
	Barnet London Borough Council
	Bath and North East Somerset Council
	Bedfordshire County Council
	Bexley London Borough Council
	Birmingham City Council
	Bradford Metropolitan District Council
	Braintree District Council
	Brent London Borough Council
	Bristol City Council
	Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
	Corby Borough Council
	Dartford Borough Council
	Derby City Council
	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
	Dover District Council
	Ealing London Borough Council
	East Devon District Council
	East Hertfordshire District Council
	East Lindsey District Council
	Eastleigh Borough Council
	Great Yarmouth Borough Council
	Hackney London Borough Council
	Hampshire County Council
	Havering London Borough Council
	Knowsley Borough Council
	Lewisham London Borough Council
	Liverpool City Council
	Luton Borough Council
	Melton Borough Council
	Middlesbrough Council
	Newcastle City Council
	Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council
	Newham London Borough Council
	Northumberland County Council
	Norwich City Council
	Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
	Oxford City Council
	Poole Borough Council
	Preston City Council
	Redbridge London Borough Council
	Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
	Redditch Borough Council
	Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
	Rochford District Council
	Rutland County Council
	Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
	Scarborough Borough Council
	Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
	Sheffield City Council
	Slough Borough Council
	South Shropshire District Council
	Southwark London Borough Council
	Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
	Stevenage Borough Council
	Stockton on Tees Borough Council
	Stoke on Trent City Council
	Swale Borough Council
	Tamworth Borough Council
	Teesdale District Council
	Tower Hamlets London Borough Council
	Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
	Waveney District Council
	Wear Valley District Council
	West Devon Borough Council
	Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
	Wirral Borough Council
	York City Council
	 Local authority partnerships (listed by lead authority)
	Buckinghamshire County Council (+ 4 partner Councils)
	Cheltenham Borough Council (+ 6)
	Cherwell District Council (+ 5)
	Cumbria County Council (+ 6)
	Dorset County Council (+6)
	Durham County Council (+ 5)
	Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (+ 9)
	North London Waste Authority (+ 4)
	Somerset County Council (+ 5)
	South London Waste Partnership (comprising Kingston upon Thames, Sutton, Croydon and Merton)
	Staffordshire County Council (+ 5)
	Surrey Waste Partnership (+ 3)
	Western Riverside Waste Authority (+ 4)

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Waste and Resources Action Programme in meeting its objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) sets itself targets—which are agreed with its funders, DEFRA and the devolved Governments—and these are written into each of its business plans. WRAP's fourth business plan was published earlier this year, and sets out its targets for the three-year period from April 2008 to March 2011.
	The extent of WRAP's delivery against its targets is set out annually in reports which are published by WRAP, and are publicly available on its website. The next such report will be published in October, and will set out how WRAP has performed against the targets contained in its third business plan, which covered the period April 2006 to March 2008.
	Prior to the publication of that report, it is possible, on the basis of WRAP's annual review for 2006-07, to report that WRAP has made it possible for the recycling industry to process an extra 5.8 million tonnes of materials per year. This consists of 4.17 million tonnes of aggregate; enough to build 83,000 new homes, 507,000 tonnes of wood, constituting 42 per cent. of the UK's domestic capacity, 495,000 tonnes of paper, 349,000 tonnes of compost, 137,000 tonnes of glass and 130,000 tonnes of plastic, enough to make 2.8 billion milk bottles.
	The benefits of WRAP's work in terms of the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) are also significant. Since WRAP started work in 2001 it is estimated that the combined impact of its activities has saved over 1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases—the same as taking 316,000 cars off the road. Over the lifetime of the projects that WRAP has directly supported, over 12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases will be saved.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which councils have received funding from the Waste and Resources Action Programme's local communications fund; and how much each received.

Hilary Benn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 14 January 2008,  Official Repor t, column 862W. The position is unchanged as the Waste and Resources Action Programme has not signed any new contracts since January 2008.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what external  (a) public affairs and  (b) public relations work the Waste and Resources Action Programme has commissioned in the last 24 months; from which companies or consultants; and at what cost to the public purse.

Hilary Benn: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) commissions external public relations agencies to communicate its research, advice and consumer campaigns to a wide range of target audiences, both business and consumer. The expenditure is predominantly in support of WRAP's national consumer behaviour-change campaigns: Recycle Now, Love Food Hate Waste and the programme to support home composting.
	WRAP ensures that public relations activity is a cost-effective use of taxpayers' funds. For example, public relations spend of £36,000 to launch The Food We Waste report in May this year delivered national and regional media coverage with an advertising value equivalent of £1.995 million, equal to the entire annual communications budget for WRAP's Food Waste campaign.
	Public relations material produced for the consumer campaigns provides local authorities with valuable free support to help them meet recycling and waste minimisation targets. These campaigns have been highly successful over this period: the number of 'committed recycler' households in England has increased by 3.9 million, unnecessary food waste has been reduced by more than 100,000 tonnes and almost two million compost bins have been sold through the home composting programme.
	It is only possible to express expenditure by financial year, and the following figures therefore relate to the two financial years between April 2007 and March 2009.
	During 2007-08, expenditure on external public relations agencies was £3.1 million, representing 4.3 per cent. of WRAP's budget for that year. In the current financial year (2008-09), the planned expenditure in this area is £2.9 million, representing 5 per cent. of the overall budget for the year. It should be noted that WRAP's 2008-09 budget is significantly lower than the budget for 2007-08, which is why the expenditure on PR agencies in 2008-09, although lower than the figure for 2007-08, represents a higher proportion of this year's budget.
	The firms employed to support WRAP over this period who are currently on the roster are 3 Monkeys, Ptarmigan, Tri-Media Harrison Cowley, Camargue, Bray Leino PR, and Fishburn Hedges. Firms no longer on the roster are Pelican PR, Lawton PR, Grayling, Proteus PR, Consolidated PR, and Kinross and Render.
	During this period WRAP commissioned one piece of external public affairs support. Now completed, this six-month project was to engage public policy makers and opinion formers from outside WRAP's established stakeholder groups to discuss a range of developing resource efficiency issues on which WRAP is working. Chelgate Ltd was engaged at a cost of £25,000.

Waste Disposal: EU Law

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether the implementation of the EU Waste Framework Directive will affect the number of councils which operate a fortnightly rubbish collection service;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the implementation of the European Waste Framework Directive on the future of weekly household collections of residual rubbish.

Hilary Benn: The forthcoming changes to the EU Waste Framework Directive, which are expected to be adopted in October 2008 and come into force towards the end of 2010, do not affect the frequency with which councils should collect household waste. That will remain, as now, a matter for councils to decide for themselves.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs representatives of which organisations attended the launch by his Department of the guidance on waste incentive schemes in London on 19 June 2008.

Hilary Benn: The following organisations attended the launch on 19 June 2008:
	Friends of the Earth
	County Surveyors Society
	National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO)
	Nappy Alliance
	Community Recycling Network UK
	The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM)
	Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
	Eunomia
	Environment Agency
	Taxpayers Alliance
	GMB
	Unison
	Unite
	Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association (AHPMA)
	Local Government Association.

Waste Disposal: Offenders

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions there have been for waste disposal offences in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years, broken down by  (a) type of offence and  (b) police force area.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 15 September 2008
	Information on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, broken down by police force area and offence in England and Wales from 1997 to 2006, is set out in the following tables. Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in England and Wales, broken down by police force area( 1)  and offence, 1997 to 2006( 2, 3) 
			  Contravening conditions of a waste management licence, section 33(6) 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 1 — — 1 — 1 — 2 — 
			 Bedfordshire — 5 — — — — 2 — 1 4 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 5 — — — — — — — 3 
			 Cheshire — 2 2 4 4 5 6 2 9 3 
			 Cleveland 6 5 3 5 1 1 2 3 7 3 
			 Cumbria 4 2 1 4 — 2 3 1 1 1 
			 Derbyshire — 4 3 4 12 4 5 7 12 3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 3 9 10 14 17 13 23 19 15 
			 Dorset 4 — — 2 1 4 — — 6 9 
			 Durham — — 1 3 — — — — — — 
			 Essex 9 8 2 7 4 1 3 8 3 2 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 2 — — 1 — — 2 — 
			 Greater Manchester — 2 9 10 8 9 18 8 38 49 
			 Hampshire 9 8 3 2 6 9 6 4 1 2 
			 Hertfordshire 4 3 11 6 — 2 3 2 — — 
			 Humberside — 1 5 3 5 20 12 9 — 3 
			 Kent — — — — — 1 — 3 13 7 
			 Lancashire 3 10 7 5 5 39 18 12 13 12 
			 Leicestershire — 2 — — 1 1 — 4 3 5 
			 Lincolnshire 1 3 3 7 5 9 6 11 11 10 
			 Merseyside 1 — 2 1 4 — — — 1 6 
			 Metropolitan Police 3 8 12 3 8 10 11 33 31 48 
			 Norfolk 1 2 1 — — 1 1 1 5 8 
			 North Yorkshire — 6 5 — 5 — 2 — 2 — 
			 Northamptonshire — 3 7 5 — 1 — — — — 
			 Northumbria 7 8 12 18 8 7 18 23 32 29 
			 Nottinghamshire — — 1 — 1 — — 3 3 5 
			 South Yorkshire 12 13 4 7 4 10 10 8 14 8 
			 Staffordshire — 1 1 — — 1 — 2 2 — 
			 Suffolk 3 — 1 1 3 2 — — 1 2 
			 Surrey 6 15 — 7 4 11 2 1 — 3 
			 Sussex — 1 1 4 6 1 4 2 1 6 
			 Thames Valley 1 — 5 7 10 14 18 20 18 42 
			 Warwickshire 1 — — — — 2 — — 1 1 
			 West Mercia 1 — 4 2 3 5 1 2 2 2 
			 West Midlands 6 23 38 10 20 24 33 26 36 47 
			 West Yorkshire 2 6 6 2 3 2 2 4 6 5 
			 Dyfed-Powys — 4 1 — — 2 — 3 — 1 
			 Gwent 1 — — 1 6 — — 2 1 — 
			 North Wales — — — 2 6 2 2 7 1 1 
			 South Wales 2 2 2 2 17 18 8 18 18 15 
			 England and Wales 98 157 164 144 175 238 210 252 316 360 
		
	
	
		
			  Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition, treating, keeping or disposing of controlled (but not special) waste in or on land without a licence, section 33(8) 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire — 1 — — 2 1 — 1 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 4 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Cheshire — — 2 — 2 1 6 1 8 6 
			 Cleveland — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Cumbria — 1 — — — — 3 — — — 
			 Derbyshire 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 1 4 — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — 1 — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Dorset 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Durham — 1 — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Essex 1 3 2 — 1 1 — 2 1 3 
			 Greater Manchester 1 1 4 2 1 1 3 2 — 2 
			 Hampshire 1 — — — 1 — — 1 — 1 
			 Hertfordshire — — — 1 4 2 — — 1 — 
			 Humberside — 2 — — — — 5 — 1 — 
			 Kent — — — — — — 2 14 34 14 
			 Lancashire 3 15 19 23 6 8 6 5 10 21 
			 Leicestershire — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Lincolnshire 1 4 1 3 4 2 2 1 5 2 
			 Merseyside 1 1 — 2 1 — — 1 — — 
			 Metropolitan Police 1 3 6 2 2 5 1 12 5 10 
			 Norfolk — 2 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 North Yorkshire — — — — 1 — — — 4 — 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — 1 1 — — — — 
			 Northumbria 1 — 2 5 1 — — — — 1 
			 Nottinghamshire — — — — — — — — 1 2 
			 South Yorkshire — — 2 1 — — — 1 2 — 
			 Staffordshire — 1 1 — — 2 — — — — 
			 Suffolk 1 — 1 — 1 — — 6 3 — 
			 Surrey — — — — — 2 1 — 1 1 
			 Sussex — 3 — 1 — — — 2 — 2 
			 Thames Valley — — 1 3 — 3 — — — 1 
			 Warwickshire — — — — — — 2 2 — 7 
			 West Mercia 1 — 1 — — — — — 2 — 
			 West Midlands — 1 1 — 1 — — — 2 4 
			 West Yorkshire 2 3 4 2 — — — 1 1 2 
			 Dyfed-Powys — 1 — 2 1 — 1 — — — 
			 Gwent — — — 1 — — 4 — 1 — 
			 North Wales — — — — — 1 1 — — — 
			 South Wales — — 1 — 1 — 4 1 5 5 
			 England and Wales 19 49 49 48 32 31 43 57 92 84 
		
	
	—continued
	
		
			  Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition of controlled special waste in or on land without a licence, section 33(9) 
			  Force  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Avon and Somerset — — 2 — 6 8 2 1 3 4 
			 Bedfordshire — — — — — 2 6 3 4 5 
			 Cambridgeshire — — 1 — — — — — — 3 
			 Cheshire 1 — — 3 — 3 4 2 7 1 
			 Cleveland 2 5 — 2 1 4 4 3 2 8 
			 Cumbria — — 1 1 7 2 5 8 3 5 
			 Derbyshire 1 4 6 4 5 5 3 7 7 8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1 — 1 — — 1 3 2 2 1 
			 Dorset 2 — 1 — — 3 1 — — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Essex 1 3 5 10 10 6 6 2 8 17 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 — 1 4 2 2 — 2 3 
			 Greater Manchester 2 3 — 7 12 15 11 15 46 42 
			 Hampshire 13 7 8 5 10 5 2 3 3 — 
			 Hertfordshire 3 2 — — 10 6 14 15 9 9 
			 Humberside 2 2 2 1 2 — 4 5 12 9 
			 Kent — — — — 2 3 3 4 9 16 
			 Lancashire 1 6 — 4 1 13 5 4 6 10 
			 Leicestershire 1 11 16 7 7 5 — 2 2 4 
			 Lincolnshire — — — 1 1 — 1 1 7 2 
			 Merseyside 3 — 2 6 11 4 2 1 12 4 
			 Metropolitan Police 8 2 9 16 34 71 54 122 117 121 
			 Norfolk 1 — — — 1 1 — 1 1 4 
			 North Yorkshire — 4 3 2 2 5 4 2 9 7 
			 Northamptonshire — — — — 1 4 2 — — — 
			 Northumbria 3 — — 7 — — — 1 2 — 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 1 1 12 8 3 9 13 15 20 
			 South Yorkshire 5 6 — 2 2 2 4 5 10 15 
			 Staffordshire 1 2 4 — 2 — — 1 1 2 
			 Suffolk — — 1 3 1 3 — — 2 — 
			 Surrey 2 2 — 2 — 6 8 4 12 7 
			 Sussex 3 2 9 5 11 10 1 3 2 4 
			 Thames Valley 2 2 1 4 1 4 6 6 12 9 
			 Warwickshire — — 2 — — 10 3 2 1 — 
			 West Mercia 1 — 7 5 15 3 12 9 12 10 
			 West Midlands 2 11 6 6 8 6 8 16 24 10 
			 West Yorkshire 14 5 5 7 12 12 10 40 44 31 
			 Wiltshire — 1 3 6 7 13 3 8 5 3 
			 Dyfed-Powys 1 8 3 13 3 13 7 11 10 10 
			 Gwent 3 2 6 3 3 2 5 8 8 19 
			 North Wales — — 1 5 17 16 18 18 7 6 
			 South Wales 1 7 12 28 44 44 49 41 31 48 
			 England and Wales 84 99 118 178 261 315 281 389 470 477 
			 (1) If a police force is not listed under one of the offences, this indicates that no prosecutions for that force have been reported. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: E & A, OCJR—Ministry of Justice.

Waste Disposal: Offices

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance or advice the Waste and Resources Action Programme has produced on recycling and reducing residual waste in office environments.

Hilary Benn: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has produced two relevant sets of guidance, both of which are freely available on its website.
	WRAP's Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Recycling Programme was set up in 2004 to investigate a range of factors to improve and increase the level of recycling by SMEs. The programme was delivered through a range of feasibility and demonstration trials which developed appropriate recycling services, charging mechanisms, sales and marketing approaches and advice on staff involvement in recycling. The overall aim was to make recycling at work easy, convenient and cost effective. The trials were successful, and have resulted in a number of new and expanded recycling services across England and Scotland. The results have been used to develop Good Practice Guidance.
	WRAP's Paper Advocacy Team was set up in 2005 to promote the benefits of using recycled paper to businesses. As well as providing direct advice to individual businesses, the team developed guidance documents, information sheets and case studies to provide more generic advice.
	WRAP's website also includes a Recycle at Work section, which includes a searchable database of recycling service providers for small businesses, a step-by-step guide to how to start recycling at work, including in offices, and some case studies.

Waste Disposal: Recycling

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the volume of waste sent for recycling which is landfill in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: Based on England local authority responses to WasteDataFlow covering the period October to December 2007, the tonnage of municipal waste collected for recycling, but rejected at the point of collection, during sorting or at the gate of the reprocessor and sent to landfill was 21,000 tonnes. This represents 1 per cent. of municipal waste collected for recycling in that period.

Waste Management

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance he issues on the minimum amount of waste produced within a local authority area which the local authority is required to deal with.

Hilary Benn: Section 75 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) sets out, among other things, the sources of household waste. Subsection 75(8) empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations further refining this list. These regulations were made in 1992 and are known as the Controlled Waste Regulations (CWR).
	Section 45(1) of the EPA places a duty on all waste collection authorities to make arrangements for the collection of all household waste arising in the area they are responsible for.
	In the case of household waste from premises covered by schedule 2 of the CWR, this duty begins when the authority is asked to collect the waste by the person holding it. Sources of household waste covered by schedule 2 of the CWR includes, but is not limited to, waste from institutions such as schools, hospitals and prisons.
	No guidance specific to the quantities of household waste arising in an area that an authority must deal with has been issued by DEFRA or any of its predecessors, as authorities have no choice over how much household waste they must collect. The Department did issue general guidance on both the EPA and the CWR when those statutory instruments came into force in the early 1990s.

Waste Management: Consultants

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations were consulted in the course of his Department's research project, "Balances and Energy Impacts of the Management of UK Wastes", published in December 2006; and what criteria were used to select these organisations for consultation.

Hilary Benn: An inception workshop was convened early in the project working programme, involving senior representatives from a range of organisations with expertise and knowledge in strategic waste management planning and life cycle assessment. Invitations were sent out to 42 organisations and 25 delegates met on 14 December 2005 in Birmingham. The following organisations attended the workshop: Biffa, Cory Environmental, Yorwaste, Shanks (all nominated through the Environmental Services Association), Associated British Foods, Asda, NHS, MOD, British Glass, Kraft, BAA, WRAP, DEFRA, EA, SEPA, Westminster Council, SEEDA, ERM, Golder Associates, Future Foundation, Brook Lyndhurst.

Waste Management: Domestic Wastes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 467W, on waste management: domestic wastes, if he will publish an updated table of the local authorities which operate residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including those operating or planning to operate pilot schemes with that frequency.

Hilary Benn: The following table represents our best understanding of local authorities operating residual household waste collections with a frequency of less than once a week, including pilot schemes. However, due to the often rapid changes in this area, it is unlikely to be completely up to date.
	
		
			  Local authorities operating alternate weekly collections (fortnightly refuse collections) 
			  jpp number  Local authority  Action 
			 19 Alnwick District Council — 
			 104 Amber Valley — 
			 139 Ashfield District Council — 
			 283 Aylesbury Vale District Council Very small pilot scheme 
			 233 Babergh District Council — 
			 90 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 138 Bassetlaw District Council — 
			 18 Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council — 
			 65 Blackpool Borough Council — 
			 17 Blyth Valley Borough Council — 
			 122 Boston Borough Council — 
			 277 Bracknell Forest Borough Council — 
			 205 Braintree District Council — 
			 225 Breckland District Council — 
			 156 Bridgnorth District Council — 
			 350 Bristol City Council — 
			 224 Broadland District Council — 
			 149 Bromsgrove District Council — 
			 137 Broxtowe Borough Council — 
			 64 Burnley Borough Council — 
			 191 Cambridge City Council — 
			 166 Cannock Chase District Council — 
			 319 Canterbury City Council — 
			 38 Carlisle City Council — 
			 16 Castle Morpeth Borough Council — 
			 113 Charnwood Borough Council — 
			 326 Cherwell District Council — 
			 102 Chesterfield Borough Council — 
			 344 Chichester District Council — 
			 282 Chiltern District Council Phases 1 and 2 introduced—not district-wide 
			 63 Chorley Borough Council — 
			 37 Copeland Borough Council — 
			 130 Corby Borough Council — 
			 31 Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council — 
			 216 Dacorum Borough Council — 
			 129 Daventry District Council — 
			 96 Derby City Council — 
			 11 Derwentside District Council — 
			 89 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 303 East Hampshire District Council — 
			 121 East Lindsey District Council — 
			 302 Eastleigh Borough Council — 
			 30 Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council — 
			 200 Epping Borough Council AWC during winter only 
			 100 Erewash Borough Council — 
			 366 Exeter City Council 50 per cent. coverage 
			 301 Fareham Borough Council — 
			 189 Fenland District Council — 
			 232 Forest Heath District Council — 
			 62 Fylde Borough Council — 
			 136 Gedling Borough Council AWC during winter only 
			 300 Gosport Borough Council — 
			 223 Great Yarmouth Borough Council — 
			 — Guildford Borough Council 1800 hh trial (proposing to roll out borough wide from October 2009) 
			 84 Hambleton District Council — 
			 112 Harborough District Council — 
			 299 Hart District Council — 
			 4 Hartlepool Borough Council — 
			 289 Hastings Borough Council 69 per cent. coverage 
			 298 Havant Borough Council — 
			 214 Hertsmere Borough Council — 
			 111 Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council — 
			 99 High Peak Borough Council — 
			 188 Huntingdonshire District Council — 
			 61 Hyndburn Borough Council — 
			 231 Ipswich Borough Council — 
			 397 Kennet District Council — 
			 127 Kettering Borough Council — 
			 92 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council Introduced from August 2007 over three years 
			 60 Lancaster City Council — 
			 164 Lichfield District Council — 
			 120 Lincoln City Council Propose to switch to AWC during winter only from 2008 
			 — London Borough of Bexley Introduced spring 2008 
			 263 London Borough of Harrow — 
			 28 Macclesfield Borough Council — 
			 135 Mansfield District Council — 
			 110 Melton Borough Council — 
			 390 Mendip District Council — 
			 183 Mid Bedfordshire District Council — 
			 365 Mid Devon District Council — 
			 230 Mid Suffolk District Council — 
			 341 Mid Sussex District Council — 
			 335 Mole Valley District Council — 
			 134 Newark and Sherwood District Council — 
			 364 North Devon District Council — 
			 98 North East Derbyshire District Council — 
			 213 North Hertfordshire District Council — 
			 119 North Kesteven District Council — 
			 77 North Lincolnshire Council — 
			 221 North Norfolk District Council — 
			 155 North Shropshire District Council — 
			 109 North West Leicestershire District Council — 
			 126 Northampton Borough Council — 
			 133 Nottingham City Council — 
			 48 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Being rolled out in phases 
			 154 Oswestry Borough Council — 
			 325 Oxford City Council — 
			 59 Pendle Borough Council — 
			 187 Peterborough City Council — 
			 58 Preston Borough Council — 
			 373 Purbeck District Council — 
			 275 Reading Borough Council — 
			 2 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council — 
			 145 Redditch Borough Council — 
			 82 Richmondshire District Council — 
			 47 Rochdale MBC  
			 197 Rochford District Council Introduced from April 2008 
			 56 Rossendale Borough Council — 
			 287 Rother District Council — 
			 88 Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council — 
			 — Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Trial 
			 132 Rushcliffe Borough Council — 
			 106 Rutland County Council Started April 2008 
			 81 Ryedale District Council — 
			 80 Scarborough Borough Council — 
			 70 Sefton MBC First phase introduced—being rolled out during 2008 
			 311 Shepway District Council — 
			 153 Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council — 
			 182 South Bedfordshire District Council — 
			 281 South Buckinghamshire District Council 4,400 household trial 
			 186 South Cambridgeshire District Council — 
			 97 South Derbyshire District Council — 
			 392 South Gloucestershire Council — 
			 362 South Hams District Council — 
			 117 South Kesteven District Council — 
			 35 South Lakeland District Council — 
			 219 South Norfolk District Council — 
			 125 South Northamptonshire Council — 
			 55 South Ribble Borough Council — 
			 152 South Shropshire District Council — 
			 388 South Somerset District Council — 
			 162 South Staffordshire District Council — 
			 332 Spelthorne Borough Council — 
			 229 St. Edmundsbury Borough Council — 
			  Stafford Borough Council Being introduced from February 2008 
			 160 Staffordshire Moorlands District Council — 
			 228 Suffolk Coastal — 
			 310 Swale Borough Council — 
			 393 Swindon Borough Council — 
			 159 Tamworth Borough Council — 
			 387 Taunton Deane Borough Council — 
			 361 Teignbridge District Council — 
			 151 Telford and Wrekin Borough Council — 
			 295 Test Valley Borough Council — 
			 308 Tonbridge and Mailing Borough Council — 
			 360 Torbay Council — 
			 307 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council — 
			 15 Tynedale District Council — 
			 195 Uttlesford District Council — 
			 27 Vale Royal Borough Council — 
			 14 Wansbeck District Council — 
			 168 Warwick District Council Introduced from April 2008 
			 227 Waveney District Council — 
			 329 Waverley Borough Council — 
			 286 Wealden District Council — 
			 124 Wellingborough Borough Council — 
			 54 West Lancashire District Council — 
			 394 West Wiltshire District Council — 
			 371 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council — 
			 294 Winchester City Council — 
			 68 Wirral MBC — 
			 328 Woking Borough Council — 
			 143 Worcester City Council — 
			 280 Wycombe District Council — 
			 53 Wyre Borough Council — 
			 141 Wyre Forest District Council — 
			 78 York City Council —

Waste Management: Domestic Wastes

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 467W, on waste management: domestic wastes, what the JPP number in the table represents.

Hilary Benn: The numbering system was devised to enable easy matching of datasets. As local authority names are recorded in different ways, e.g. London borough of Camden and Camden, London borough, it was proving difficult to match datasets based on local authority names alone, a process which was facilitated considerably by the numbering system. The letters "JPP" are the initials of the person who devised the system.

Water Charges: Religious Buildings

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will amend guidance to Ofwat on charges for water services for churches and other places of worship so as to reinstate the exemption from such charges that pertained prior to the abolition of rateable value; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Places of public religious worship were traditionally zero rated, and therefore by default were not charged for surface water drainage under the rateable value system of charging.
	In 2000 the then Secretary of State issued guidance on matters to be taken into account by Ofwat in agreeing companies' charging schemes, including charging non-household users that are not businesses, including places of worship, community facilities, charities and voluntary bodies. The guidance stated that those making similar demands on a service should be charged on the same basis. It also made clear that where premises impose customer-related costs in line with or lower than those of typical households, they should be able to benefit from tariffs which reflect their small demand on the water system. It also stated that the phasing in of any large, sudden changes in charges should be considered.
	Ministers are currently reviewing the impact of these changes.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, what steps his Department has taken to inform suppliers, farmers, allotment holders and gardeners of the risks associated with the use of aminopyralid.

Hilary Benn: The Pesticides Safety Directorate has issued information to a wide range of interested parties, including those holding pesticide approvals and those representing growers, suppliers and consumer and environmental interests. The directorate has also liaised closely on this matter with the National Society for Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and the Royal Horticultural Society. Information about aminopyralid is available on the directorate's website.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, what assessment he has made of the risk of further contamination of crops during the next growing season.

Hilary Benn: The Pesticides Safety Directorate suspended authorisations for the sale, supply and use of aminopyralid products from 23 July 2008, while it carries out further investigations into this problem. The suspension will not be lifted unless I am confident that the risks from contaminated manure can be effectively managed.
	As regards unused manure, advice has been issued to ensure that it rots down fully and is fit for use in the next few years; or it can be disposed of as waste. Advice has also been issued on handling affected plots to speed up the decomposition of the grass in the manure. For example rotavating or digging over affected plots a number of times and ensuring the manure is turned readily. Providing this advice is followed, the risk to next year's crops should be low.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the precautions taken by  (a) the suppliers and  (b) the end-users of aminopyralid to ensure that it did not contaminate manure.

Hilary Benn: It is recognised that manure may become contaminated by aminopyralid following the approved use of products which contain this substance. The labels of such products therefore include conditions regarding the use of manure, to avoid damage to other crops. That other crops appear to have been damaged by manure contaminated with aminopyralid indicates that these conditions may not have been observed in all cases. The Pesticides Safety Directorate suspended authorisations for the sale, supply and use of aminopyralid products from 23 July 2008, while it carries out further investigations into this problem.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, which herbicides have  (a) been granted provisional authorisation,  (b) been refused provisional authorisation,  (c) been granted full authorisation,  (d) had provisional authorisation rescinded and  (e) had full authorisation rescinded.

Hilary Benn: The following products containing aminopyralid have been given provisional authorisation:
	
		
			  Approval Holder  Product Name  MAPP Number 
			 Dow Agro Sciences Limited Banish 13766 
			  Forefront 12765 
			  Halcyon 12749 
			  Pharaoh 13631 
			  Pro-Banish 13767 
			  Runway 14017 
			  Synero 14059 
			 AgChemAccess Ltd Upfront 13782 
		
	
	In each case, the authorisation was amended with effect from 23 July 2008 to suspend approval for sale, supply and use. Approval for storage remains extant.
	No products have been refused provisional authorisation, or been granted full authorisation, or had provisional or full authorisation rescinded.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, in what circumstances his Department would rescind a provisional authorisation for a herbicide.

Hilary Benn: Provisional authorisation would be rescinded if the requirements for obtaining that authorisation were not, or were no longer satisfied; or if it was granted on the basis of false or misleading information; or at the request of the authorisation holder.

Weedkillers

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 435W, on manure, what further stages of approval aminopyralid will be subject to before it may be fully approved.

Hilary Benn: Aminopyralid must be approved for use in the European Community and included in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC, following which products which contain it must be re-registered in accordance with the conditions of that approval. If aminopyralid is not approved for use within the Community, all extant provisional authorisations will be withdrawn.

Wildlife: Conservation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to enforce legislation protecting wildlife.

Hilary Benn: The Government remain committed to tackling wildlife crime. Earlier this year they committed funding for the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to secure its future for the next three years. This will enable the unit to further professionalise the enforcement of wildlife legislation, through: gathering information and evidence to compile an annual assessment of wildlife crime in the UK; gathering and analysing intelligence in support of the UK's wildlife crime priorities; and providing direct assistance to individual police and customs officers through its investigative support officers.
	All incidents of wildlife crime in England and Wales are required to be recorded by the police service under the National Standard for Incident Recording, which should enable enforcers to have a better understanding of the level of wildlife crime taking place.
	The Government also strengthened police powers to investigate offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932, the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, the Deer Act 1991 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, through the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
	In April this year, the Government updated their response to the Environmental Audit Committee's 2004 report of its inquiry into wildlife crime. The update gives full information about the Government's activities in this area and is available on request from the House of Commons Library.

Wildlife: National Parks

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to maintain wildlife stocks in the national parks.

Hilary Benn: National parks play an important role in wildlife conservation and have already made a significant contribution for priority species and habitats under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. National park authorities have been collaborating with Natural England for some years to tackle issues such as overgrazing and burning on upland sites of special scientific interest. They will continue to work together to ensure the National parks' contribution to biodiversity conservation is delivered in an exemplary way.

Wood: Waste Disposal

Bill Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of the recommendations for incinerating waste wood put forward in his Department's research and development project on carbon balances and energy impacts of the management of UK wastes.

Hilary Benn: The findings of the study helped to inform the conclusion, set out in our waste strategy in May 2007, that wood has relatively low embodied energy (energy consumed in extraction) but high calorific value. While for some kinds of wood waste re-use or recycling are better options, its use as a fuel generally conveys a greater greenhouse gas benefit than recovering the material as a resource (and avoiding primary production).

Wood: Waste Disposal

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to consult recyclers of waste wood on the recommendations for incinerating waste wood put forward in his Department's project on carbon balances and energy impacts of the management of UK wastes.

Hilary Benn: DEFRA has a project to take forward the policy on waste wood set out in the Waste Strategy 2007. As an initial step, DEFRA published an information report 'Waste Wood as a Biomass Fuel' in April 2008, prepared in consultation with waste wood recyclers and other stakeholders.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Entry Clearances

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to extend the scheme of entry clearance operating for locally employed staff in Iraq to similar staff in Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: The Iraq scheme was introduced in the context of a particular set of difficult circumstances including significant violence and intimidation of our Iraqi locally-engaged staff. There are no current requirements, and therefore no plans to extend the scheme to staff in Afghanistan at present, although this is kept under review. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is doing everything it can to discharge its duty of care to all staff serving in Afghanistan, within the constraints of the environment in which it operates.

Bell Pottinger

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions representatives of Bell Pottinger or Chime Communications have requested advice from his Department in relation to whether they should provide public affairs or public relations services to foreign Governments.

David Miliband: Many UK companies make contact with Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff in the UK and in our embassies overseas for advice on their operations overseas. We do not keep central records of all these contacts.

Georgia: Overseas Residence

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government have taken to ensure the safety of Britons in Georgia.

Caroline Flint: As for all countries, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office offers guidance for British nationals in Georgia and those thinking of travelling to Georgia through our travel advice. Our embassy in Tbilisi, like all of our overseas missions, has emergency plans to ensure that British nationals are offered an appropriate level of assistance. In most cases this assistance will be offered through our travel advice and responding to inquiries. If necessary, we would consider reinforcing our embassy to assist the embassy in offering the necessary assistance to British nationals.

HEALTH

Lung Cancer: Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of proposals received for a feasibility study and trial development for a United Kingdom-based screening programme for lung cancer; and what further steps he plans to take.

Dawn Primarolo: Following a call for proposals made earlier this year, the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme has now commissioned a feasibility study and trial protocol development for a United Kingdom based screening programme for lung cancer utilising low dose computerised tomography. The six-month study will start once the necessary contracts have been signed.

Hepatitis

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people newly-diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Laboratory reports of hepatitis C received by the Health Protection Agency—England: 1997 to 2007 
			   Number of laboratory reports( 1) 
			 1997 2,484 
			 1998 3,812 
			 1999 4,614 
			 2000 4,489 
			 2001 4,153 
			 2002 4,761 
			 2003 5,529 
			 2004 6,206 
			 2005 6,234 
			 2006 6,721 
			 2007(2) 7,540 
			 (1) Corrected annual totals at August 2008. All annual totals have been revised to take into account an updated routine to remove reports, which relate to the same patient. Laboratory reports of hepatitis C are newly diagnosed cases of both current and past infections. This is because present serological tests are not able to differentiate between current acute and chronic hepatitis C infections, or between current and past hepatitis C infections. (2) Provisional total.  Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA)

Hepatitis: Finance

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department plans to spend in  (a) the 2008-09 and  (b) the 2009-10 financial year on improving GPs' awareness of the risks of contracting the hepatitis C virus and its treatment.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is currently developing its ongoing hepatitis C awareness campaign for healthcare professionals and the public for 2008-09 and beyond.
	Health professionals in primary care, including general practitioners, will remain an important audience for the campaign so that they are equipped to provide patients with information and advice about hepatitis C and to offer testing where appropriate.
	The Department will spend about £2.5 million (excluding VAT) on the entire campaign for 2008-09. Budgets for 2009-10 and beyond are yet to be confirmed.

Hyperactivity

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts have allocated resources to tackle attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults.

Ben Bradshaw: It is not possible to state how many primary care trusts have allocated resources to address the provision of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for adults. This is because funding for primary care trusts to deliver health care, including mental health care, to their populations is allocated on the basis of a formula that takes account of a range of factors associated with population health need.
	This formula does not take account of specific diagnostic categories such as attention deficit disorder and therefore we do not have specific information on the number of trusts that have allocated resources solely to address this disorder. Diagnosis and treatment are matters for local determination and primary care trusts are expected to adhere to recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the subject.

Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process was followed in the appointment of the Chairman of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV; where the post was advertised; how many persons applied for the post; how many were short-listed for interview; whether consideration was given to a candidate's  (a) political views and  (b) views on abortion; how each was appraised; what criteria were adopted for each candidate; how many candidates were rejected; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In appointing the chair and members of the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV, the Department followed the guidance on appointments to public bodies, issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This included recruiting an Independent Assessor, who was involved in all stages of the recruitment exercise. I agreed all appointments to the group.
	The post was advertised in  The Times,  The Guardian, medical press and minority ethnic press. Three individuals applied for the post of chair and all were interviewed. All candidates for the chair were appraised using the same three criteria, which were:
	experience of successfully chairing a large committee;
	ability to steer a programme of work and have the ability to think strategically across a range of issues; and
	possess a thorough knowledge and understanding of sexual health and HIV, or related social policy.
	We are unable to give information on political views or views on abortion, as such information would identify candidates.

Infectious Diseases: Vaccinations

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the vaccine industry on public health priorities in addressing infectious diseases.

Dawn Primarolo: My right hon. Friend has had no meetings with the vaccine industry since his appointment in June 2007. The Department meets with the vaccine industry on an ad hoc basis and provides submissions to my office when needed.

Mental Health Services

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people medically recommended for treatment under sections 2 or 3 of the Mental Health Act 2007 could not be admitted to hospital due to shortage of beds during the last year for which figures are available, broken down by mental health trust area.

Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 345-6W, on the National User Forum on Mental Health, what discussions have taken place with service users on the replacement for the national service framework for mental health from 2009.

Phil Hope: Work on replacing the national service framework is being developed through the 'New Horizons' programme which began with a national event in November 2007. User and carer involvement is a key element.
	An encouraging number of service user and carer representatives attended the four regional forums that have taken place and representatives have been invited to and are expected to attend the forum taking place in the east midlands later in October 2008.
	'New Horizons' will also take full account of the visions set out recently by the 10 strategic health authorities as part of the Next Stage Review, and by various key stakeholders, such as the coalition that produced 'A New Vision for Mental Health'. All of these have involved, and continue to involve, users and carers.

NHS: Dental Services

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were on waiting lists to register for an NHS dentist in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how best to manage patients seeking national health service dental services.
	However, increasing the number of patients seen within the NHS dental service is now a priority in the operating framework for the NHS in England 2008-09. We have supported this with an 11 per cent. uplift in overall dental allocations to PCTs from 1 April 2008. Copies of the operating framework have already been placed in the Library.

NHS: Eyesight

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received corrective laser eye surgery on the NHS in  (a) Ribble Valley constituency,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: Corrective laser eye surgery is not carried out routinely on the national health service other than for exceptional clinical reasons and these will be very rare. The Department does not collect data broken down by this specific group.

NHS: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the monies allocated to the reduction in the numbers of people with learning disabilities living in NHS campus-style accommodation will be distributed.

Phil Hope: To support the programme to close national health service campus-style services, £96 million in revenue grant and £175 million in capital grant was made available for three years; 2008-09, 2009-010 and 2010-11.
	The revenue grant has been targeted on local authorities (LAs) where campuses are currently or have previously been located to ensure that the money is used to help more people into appropriate supported accommodation. LAs were invited to bid for funding for the grant.
	The LAs that applied for the grant and were successful in their bid, will have their grant monies paid as a single payment on 1 June of the financial year to which the payment relates, or as soon after that as reasonable practicable. The total allocations for the revenue grant were £14 million in 2008-09, £31 million in 2009-10 and £51 million in 2010-11.
	In addition, there is a three-stage bidding process in place for LAs and primary care trusts to bid for capital funding. Stages 1 and 2 of this programme have been completed and a total of £48 million over two years (2007-08 and 2008-09) has been allocated to help up to 700 people with a learning disability move to alternative accommodation in the community. An expert panel assessed the joint bids to decide on the allocations; this panel included a person with learning disabilities and a family carer.

Pregnant Women: Alcoholic Drinks

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department plans to take to improve public awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
	(2)  if he will  (a) make foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) a core subject in training for new doctors and other medical professionals and  (b) design and implement a catch-up training programme on FASD for medical professionals already in practice, with particular reference to (i) general practitioners, (ii) midwives, (iii) mental health workers and (iv) those working in paediatrics;
	(3)  if he will list the steps his Department plans to take to increase awareness of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy;
	(4)  if he will take steps to improve the awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) amongst  (a) LEA members,  (b) local authority members and  (c) others responsible for decisions on the allocation of public funds in order to ensure appropriate future provision of funds to deal with FASD.

Dawn Primarolo: In early 2007, the four United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers considered the need for consistent advice across the UK on pregnancy and drinking alcohol. Following this, the Department's advice on drinking before and during pregnancy was revised and published in May 2007.
	In March 2008, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published advice for health professionals on the treatment and care of women during pregnancy. This includes advice on drinking alcohol.
	The Department's advice is that pregnant women and women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol and that, if they choose to drink, to minimise risk to the baby, they should not drink more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk.
	The NICE guidelines emphasise the importance of avoiding alcohol completely during the first three months of pregnancy, the key time for organ and nervous system development.
	The Department is working with the alcohol industry to include information about drinking when pregnant on alcohol labels. This voluntary agreement with the alcohol industry, announced in May 2007, is to include unit content and daily guideline information on labels. The Department expects that advice to women to avoid alcohol if they are pregnant or trying to conceive should also be included on most alcohol labels by the end of 2008.
	In May 2008, we launched a campaign to raise awareness of the public's knowledge of units of alcohol and how they relate to today's drinks and servings—this included communication to highlight the updated pregnancy advice around alcohol consumption.
	On 22 July 2008, the Department launched the Government's alcohol consultation, asking for the views of the public and key stakeholders on what action the Government should take in response to the rising levels of alcohol health harm and crime and disorder. One of the questions that the consultation asks is whether the alcohol industry should have to include information on alcohol unit content and health on the labelling of alcohol products.
	We are working with the International Centre for Drug Policy to influence the development of the undergraduate medical curriculum and embed substance misuse, including a specific module on alcohol identification and brief advice, within the curriculum. This includes working with the Deans of the 24 English Medical Schools, who are all independent and set their own curriculum. The aims for undergraduate medical students are that:
	students should be able to recognise, assess and understand the management of substance misuse and associated health and social problems and contribute to the prevention of addiction;
	students should be aware of the effects of substance misuse on their own behaviour and health and on their professional practice and conduct; and
	students' education and training should challenge the stigma and discrimination that are often experienced by people with addiction problems.
	In spring 2008, we announced funding to develop the implementation of the curriculum and the training of new doctors, including, as a core priority, ensuring that future doctors will be able to recognise, assess and understand the management of alcohol misuse and its associated health and social problems, and the funding of co-ordinators in medical schools, whose roles include working with curriculum developers to ensure that the guidance is implemented and to facilitate integration of the guidance into their curricula.
	Guidance, issued in April 2007, has been developed to define the aims and core learning outcomes in substance misuse, which medical students should achieve during the undergraduate stage of their basic medical education.
	The guidance goes on to say specifically that on graduation students should be able to advise women on the effects of substance use, including alcohol, and the impact on foetal and maternal health. Concerning specific diseases, students should be able to describe the effects on pregnancy and on the newborn of misuse or dependence on alcohol, tobacco or illicit drugs.
	Currently, there are no plans to design a "catch-up training programme" on foetal alcohol spectrum disorder for those medical professionals already in practice.

Salt

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the food manufacturing industry on the salt content of packaged foods.

Dawn Primarolo: The "Healthy Weight Healthy Lives Strategy" published in January (copies of which have already been placed in the Library) sets out as one of its key aims, a plan to "finalise a Healthy Food Code of Good practice , in partnership with the food and drink industry, and other relevant stakeholders". This code challenges the whole industry to adopt practices to reduce levels of saturated fat, sugar and salt in processed foods among other measures.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the food industry on salt reduction.

Skin Piercing

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to hospital as a result of medical problems resulting from body piercing in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Health Protection Agency has investigated the prevalence of cosmetic body piercing in the general population in England aged 16 years and over and associated complications. This research indicates that most complications associated with body piercing appear to be minor and self-limiting such as local, minor wound infections and that serious complications requiring hospital admission are rare—affecting less than 1 per cent. of those aged 16 to 24 having a piercing, the group in which piercing is most common.
	This research was published in the  British Medical Journal ( BMJ) on 13 June 2008 and is available on the  BMJ's website at:
	www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/336/7658/1426?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=& fulltext=body+piercing&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype =HWCIT
	Copies have also been placed in the Library.

Smoking: Counselling

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid to stop-smoking counsellors in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The latest data on overall expenditure on stop smoking services by the national health service were published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 'Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services: England, April 2007 to March 2008'. A copy has been placed in the Library.

SunSmart

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the timetable is for rolling out the SunSmart campaign; when he plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme; and by what means;
	(2)  what timetable is in place for gathering more information about the effects of sunbed use.

Dawn Primarolo: SunSmart is the United Kingdom's National Skin Cancer Prevention and Sun Protection Campaign, run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of the UK Health Departments. The campaign runs on an annual basis, between April and September, and activities are evaluated by Cancer Research UK on an ongoing basis including both quantitative and qualitative factors.
	The Department is not currently collecting information on the effects of sunbed use. However, it is taking steps to gather information on the distribution and extent of sunbed use by young people, as mentioned in the Cancer Reform Strategy, copies of which have already been placed in the Library. A report is expected in 2009.

Tobacco

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will respond to the consultation on proposals for the next steps in  (a) tobacco control and  (b) the further regulation of tobacco products.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has received nearly 100,000 responses to the "Consultation on the future of tobacco control". A summary of consultation responses will be made available on the Department's website before the end of 2008.
	The Government have committed to developing a new national tobacco control strategy to build on the achievements made since the publication of the "Smoking Kills" White Paper in 1998. The "Consultation on the future of tobacco control" is the first stage in developing this new strategy. A publication date for the new strategy will be announced in due course.

Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will publish the output data from the pilot studies conducted as part of the Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services programme;
	(2)  what guidance he is issuing to local authorities on the implementation of the new Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services programme model.

Phil Hope: The retail model developed for community equipment met with overall approval from the sector. The outline business case was sufficiently robust to support developing the outline model to operational status. This is currently being undertaken through a shadow running process in the north west with local authority (LA) and health partners in Manchester, Oldham and Cheshire.
	The shadow running process demonstrated improvements in the user experience and efficiency of the service.
	Cheshire and Oldham have decided to implement the model locally. This confirms that, in their areas, the new prescription processes have been demonstrated to be effective and are capable of being scaled up to support full implementation of the retail model.
	The business case for a new model of delivery of wheelchair services is currently being considered by senior officials in the Department. At the present time we are unable to specify a timescale for any future decisions to be made and announced.
	There are no current plans to issue guidance to LAs. LAs and health partnerships continue in their statutory duty to meet the needs of those individuals eligible for support. Retailers also continue to offer a range of services, including installation and personal advice, to those who self fund.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 24 June 2008,  Official Report, column 259W, on antisocial behaviour, what the timetable is for implementing the provisions of the 2006 Act; and whether she plans to implement the Act before implementation of the provisions of the Community Empowerment Bill.

Vernon Coaker: We have always been clear that the implementation of these proposals must give proper consideration to the wider local accountability agenda. We are therefore keen to ensure that implementation of these provisions properly takes into account the findings of Sir Ronnie Flanagan's Independent Review of Policing, along with the proposals from Louise Casey's review "Connecting Communities with the fight against crime".
	The Policing Green Paper "From the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together" set out proposals for improving local accountability, and specifically asks for views on how the Councillor Calls for Action might complement the broader agenda.
	The formal consultation period for the Green Paper runs until Friday 10 October. Any implementation timetable for the Councillor Calls for Action will need to be developed in light of the responses received.

Assaults on Police

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on  (a) police officers and  (b) police community support officers there were in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is collected on behalf of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
	 (a) Data for the numbers of assaults on police officers and operational police staff for 2003-04 and 2004-05 can be found in the HMIC Annual Report, available in the Library of the House and from:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc08/0842/0842.pdf
	These data are not available by individual rank and therefore have been provided for police officers and operational staff as a combined figure.
	Data for the numbers of assaults on police officers for 2005-06 to 2007-08 can be found in the supplementary tables of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 08/08 "Police Service Strength, England and Wales", available in the Library of the House and from:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0808supptab1.pdf
	 (b) Data for the numbers of assaults on police community support officers for 2003-04 and 2004-05 were not separately identifiable in the information published by HMIC and are not available.
	Data for the numbers of assaults on police community support officers for 2005-06 to 2007-08 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Assaults( 1)  on police community support officers 2005-06 to 2007-08( 2, 3) 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Force  Fatal injury  Serious injury  Minor or no injury  Fatal injury  Serious injury  Minor or no injury  Fatal injury  Serious injury  Minor or no injury 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire(4) — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cheshire(3) 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 12 
			 Cleveland(4) — — — 0 0 3 0 0 3 
			 Cumbria(4) — — — — — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire(5) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 9 
			 Devon and Cornwall(5) 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 14 
			 Dorset 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Durham 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 3 
			 Essex 0 0 3 0 1 16 0 1 12 
			 Gloucestershire 0 1 5 0 0 5 0 0 4 
			 Greater Manchester 0 1 14 0 1 21 0 1 44 
			 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 11 
			 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 15 
			 Kent 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 Lancashire 0 0 4 0 0 13 0 0 10 
			 Leicestershire 0 0 5 0 0 6 0 0 13 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 5 
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Merseyside 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 11 
			 Metropolitan Police 0 2 72 0 10 70 0 23 155 
			 Norfolk 0 0 1 0 0 12 0 1 11 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Northumbria 0 0 4 0 0 3 0 1 10 
			 North Yorkshire(4) — — — — — — — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 8 0 0 3 0 0 2 
			 South Yorkshire 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 5 
			 Staffordshire 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 
			 Suffolk 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 
			 Sussex 0 0 4 0 2 4 0 0 5 
			 Thames Valley 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 6 
			 Warwickshire(3) 0 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 1 
			 West Mercia 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 4 
			 West Midlands 0 0 8 0 0 22 0 0 32 
			 West Yorkshire 0 0 39 0 1 42 0 0 45 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 5 0 0 2 0 1 6 
			 Dyfed-Powys(6) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Gwent 0 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 5 
			 North Wales 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 
			 South Wales(4) — — — — — — — — — 
			 (1) Provisional data collated on behalf of HMIC. Serious assaults are those for which the charge would be under Sections 18 and 20 of the offences Against the Person Act 1861. Other assaults include those with minor or no injury. Recording practices may vary over time and between forces. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. (3) Cheshire and Warwickshire were not able to provide data from the HR recording system, data are therefore taken from the crime system and are not comparable with that from other forces. (4) Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and South Wales were not able to provide data for one or more years. (5) Derbyshire in all years and Devon and Cornwall in 2005-06 only were not able to separately identify the degree of assault. All assaults figures for affected years are given in the minor or no injury category. (6) Dyfed-Powys were not able to provide consistent figures for the reporting period, and data for each year are therefore not comparable.

Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date her Department was informed of the decision of the High Court regarding the asylum claim of Mr. A. U. of Aylesbury (ref: U 1030958/2); on what date the case was allocated to a case worker for resolution; what the reasons are for the time taken in issuing a visa to Mr. A. U.; and when she expects such a visa to be issued.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 6 October 2008
	The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 2 October 2008.

Asylum: Employment

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to allow asylum seekers to work while their status is being determined; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: We have no current plans to change the position whereby asylum seekers are only allowed to work if they have not had a decision on their asylum application within 12 months of the date of their application and the delay is not attributable to them.

Closed Circuit Television

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the latest guidance from the Office of Surveillance Commissioners on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the use of local authority CCTV systems for directed surveillance by a law enforcement agency.

Vernon Coaker: The Information Commissioner published in January 2008 revised guidance on the use of CCTV in line with the Data Protection Act 1998. No separate guidance has been published by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, although in his recent annual report, for 2007-08, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner welcomed the dialogue between local authorities and the police on this matter.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many notifications  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies made to the Information Commissioner following the loss or mishandling of personal information or data in each of the last three years; and what was notified in each case.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office has published details of the protected personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its Resource Accounts published on 8 August 2008. In the first half of 2008-09 (April to September) a notification was made to the Information Commissioner regarding the PA consulting data loss incident.
	In 2008-09, the UK Border Agency contacted the Information Commissioner about a potential incident involving the loss of a data stick on UKBA premises. The data stick was subsequently found at an internal location so this was not in fact a notifiable incident.
	The Identity and Passport Service has published details of the personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its Annual Report and Accounts published on 26 June 2008. In the first half of 2008-09 no notifications were made to the Information Commissioner.
	The Criminal Records Bureau, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, did not report any notification of loss or mishandling of any personal data to the Information Commissioner's Office for the period 2007-08. In the first half of 2008-09 no notifications were made to the Information Commissioner.
	Before November 2007 the Information Commissioner's Office did not specifically keep records of instances of information security losses or breaches.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in government.

Deportation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many Bassetlaw residents were deported from the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many UK residents have been deported to Australia in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The information regarding how many Bassetlaw residents have been deported from the UK in each of the last five years is not available at the geographical level requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows the number of removals and voluntary departures from the UK to Australia, which includes those subject to a deportation order, from 2004 to 2007. These figures exclude persons refused entry at port and subsequently removed (including cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls) since they were not resident in the UK at the time.
	Destination data have only been recorded since 2004, so information on persons removed to Australia during 2003 is not available.
	Further National Statistics on removals from the UK are available from the Library of the House and the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1,2 ) from the UK to Australia,  2004 to 2007( 3) 
			   Number of removals 
			 2004 15 
			 2005 50 
			 2006 30 
			 2007(4) 70 
			 Total(4) 170 
			 (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under the Assisted Voluntary Return Programme run by the International Organisation for Migration since January 2005, persons who it has been established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Excludes persons refused entry at port and subsequently removed (including cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls). (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum to the total shown because of independent rounding. (4) Provisional figures.

Extradition

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the working group initiated under the then Prime Minister's 12 point plan of August 2005 in order to deal with extradition requests to the UK; how many times the group met in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: Since August 2005, 13 people have been extradited by the UK for terrorism-related offences; five people have been discharged by UK courts; five cases are ongoing and one case was withdrawn by the requesting state.
	The steering group established in 2005 to explore the issue of establishing a maximum time limit for extradition cases involving terrorism met on a monthly basis between September 2005 and November 2006. The original focus was to consult stakeholders on maximum time-limits. The group has continued to meet on a bi-monthly basis since November 2006 to discuss other extradition related issues and to maintain a watching brief on all ongoing terrorist-related extradition cases.

Immigration: Children

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many days children who were British citizens were in immigration detention in the last 12 months.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 7 October 2008
	The information requested on the number of days children with British citizenship have been detained in immigration detention is not centrally collated and could be provided only by examining individual cases in disparate locations (local enforcement offices) at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of persons detained is published in the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin, on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Metropolitan Police: Finance

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of the Metropolitan Police Service's CBI3 unit and its successor organisation in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not held centrally.
	Costs associated with individual force units and decisions on the distribution of resources are an operational matter for the Commissioner and the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Offenders: Deportation

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the breakdown by nationality is of the 250 sentence-expired foreign nationals held in detention under immigration powers.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 September 2008
	In her letter of 18 February, the chief executive of the UK Border Agency referred the Home Affairs Committee to her appearance before them on 15 January, where she advised that the countries relevant in this respect were Jamaica, Nigeria, China and Vietnam.
	The chief executive also advised the committee in her most recent letter of 23 July of the improvements being made to sustain and develop the agency's capability for returning foreign prisoners.

Offensive Weapons: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people aged  (a) 16 and under,  (b) between 17 and 18,  (c) between 18 and 21 and  (d) 21 years were arrested for carrying (i) knives and (ii) firearms in the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in each of the last five years, broken down by district or borough.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Passports: Ex-servicemen

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many war veterans in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK received a free passport in each year since the scheme's inception.

Meg Hillier: The then Home Secretary announced the introduction of free passports on 19 May 2004 as a special concession for the second world war generation, to recognise all those who had contributed to the national effort during the war years, whether in the armed services or on the home front. Those who qualify are British nationals born on or before 2 September 1929 and therefore were old enough by the end of the war to have made a substantial contribution to the national effort.
	The number of free passports issued under the scheme, by financial year, is as follows:
	
		
			   Free passports issued 
			 2004-05 121,444 
			 2005-06 157,229 
			 2006-07 127,820 
			 2007-08 109,655 
			 2008-09(1) 45,344 
			 (1) To end September 2008 
		
	
	Information on numbers issued by constituency could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Passports: Pensioners

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many free passports were issued to pensioners in 2007;
	(2)  how many free passports have been issued to pensioners in Bassetlaw constituency in the last two years.

Meg Hillier: The introduction of free passports was announced on 19 May 2004 as a special concession for the second world war generation. Those who qualify are British nationals born on or before 2 September 1929 and therefore were old enough by the end of the war to have made a substantial contribution to the national effort. From January to December 2007, 118,723 free passports were issued. Information on numbers issued by constituency could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Personation: Internet

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to address online identity fraud.

Meg Hillier: The Government have a number of ongoing work programmes, many operating in partnership with public and private sector stakeholders, to seek to combat all forms of fraud, including where computer systems are a factor in enabling fraudulent activity.
	Government have allocated £29 million over three years to implement the recommendations of the Fraud Review. This includes the creation of a National Fraud Strategic Authority, launched earlier this month; a new national lead force role for the city of London police; and a National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), expected to go live in 2009, which will radically streamline the way that the public report fraud, including fraud committed over the internet, to the police. The NFRC will also equip law enforcement agencies with a powerful intelligence tool and help form the basis of better prevention advice and alerts to fraud threats for business and the public.
	To help people and organisations protect themselves from crime which may involve an online element, the website www.getsafeonline.org was developed by the Government, police and industry. The website gives advice on how to stay safe online when shopping, banking or doing business over the internet, and how to protect computers and the personal information they contain. More general advice regarding identity fraud can be found on the website www.identitytheft.org.uk which was developed in partnership between Government, law enforcement and industry to provide advice to the public and business around combating identity theft and fraud.
	The Government are providing £3.5 million over three years to create the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU). This will provide support to the police service in developing a structured response to online crime, and its initial focus will be on the area of fraud-related electronic crime, working with the NFRC to develop a response to reports on such matters. The PCeU will act as the central unit for the police on promotion of standards for training, procedure and response to e-crime. It will bring together forces, the National Police Improvement Agency and other groups to develop training and to coordinate activity to build up the skill levels within policing. Outside of this the Serious Organised Crime Agency will continue its ongoing work to tackle the international and serious organised crime groups operating on the internet, supporting the NFRC and PCeU where appropriate.
	Government continue to review and revise legislation to ensure that it is adequate to deal with modern ways of committing offences. The Fraud Act 2006 revised and updated legislation on fraud, including introducing an offence of fraud by false representation. This makes it an offence to commit any fraud by false representation in any form; it makes no difference if the representation is made to a machine or to a person, and there does not have to be any actual loss to a victim, it is merely enough to expose another to a risk of loss.
	Ministers continue to have regular contact with the banking industry about crime reduction, including issues around online frauds.

Police: Notting Hill Carnival

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the cost of policing the 2008 Notting Hill Carnival was;
	(2)  how much was paid to the police by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd to cover the cost of policing the 2008 event.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not held centrally.
	This is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Commissioner, who are responsible for assessing local needs.

Police: Nottinghamshire

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in Nottinghamshire in each of the last seven years.

Vernon Coaker: The available data are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force as  at 31 March 1996 to 31 March 2008 
			  Nottinghamshire police force  Number 
			 2002 2,330 
			 2003(3) 2,411 
			 2004(3) 2,484 
			 2005(3) 2,502 
			 2006(3) 2,477 
			 2007(3) 2,410 
			 2008(3) 2,334 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison.

Police: Standards

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to include statistics on prosecution of  (a) drink drivers and  (b) disqualified drivers as part of the police national performance data.

Alan Campbell: The headline Statutory Performance Indicators within the policing performance framework are focused on a small number of key outcomes. The Assessments of Policing and Community Safety (APACS) framework for 2008-09 therefore contains an indicator on the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions. This indicator is also one of the priorities for local government, as set out in the National Indicator Set for Local Government in England. More detailed information on issues relating to the objective of reducing road traffic casualties is collected, but it is outside of the national indicators list.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what freephone 24-hour telephone lines exist for victims of rape and sexual assault in England and Wales.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The Government fund a matrix of helplines for victims of domestic violence across the country including the free 24-hour national domestic violence helpline. We are currently exploring options for expanding these to cover a 24-hour sexual violence helpline. In addition, the Government provide funding to help develop new sexual assault referral centres and support existing ones. Sexual assault referral centres are available 24 hours a day to provide support to victims of sexual violence.

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to increase the number of sexual assault referral centres in England and Wales over the next five years.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The Government have a commitment in the Action Plan for Tackling Violence 2008 to 2011 to double the number of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) from 19 to 38 by 2011. The Government are making good progress towards this target as there are already 22 SARCs in England and Wales. The Home Secretary's announcement on 7 October 2008 of the availability of £1.6 million to help develop new SARCs and support existing ones will contribute further to the expansion of SARCs.

Theft: Metals

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of  (a) the incidence of metal theft and  (b) the cost of such theft to (i) Government, (ii) local authorities and (iii) other public bodies; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: We are supporting the Association of Chief Police Officers-led Conductive Metal Theft working group to address the problem of metal theft and will be working closely with all stakeholders and Government Departments to establish effective responses to the problem.
	The ACPO working group has produced an analysis which included an assessment of the overall cost of metal theft but this is not broken down into individual costs to Government and other public bodies. The analysis is being used as the basis for the development of the working group's strategy to address the issue
	It is clear that the consequences of metal theft can be significant for local communities, businesses and the national infrastructure.

Theft: Metals

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the  (a) number and  (b) monetary value of (i) aluminium and (ii) stainless steel beer barrels stolen in 2007.

Alan Campbell: We have made no estimation of the monetary value of aluminium or stainless steel barrels stolen in 2007.
	We are working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers-led Conductive Metals Working Group to establish an effective response to the problem of metal theft.
	We are aware that each year the brewing industry loses a considerable amount of money from the theft and misappropriation of barrels, kegs, and gas cylinders. Action to address the problem will be part of the ACPO working group strategy to tackle metal theft.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) work permit holders and  (b) dependants of work permit holders were given leave to enter the UK in each quarter since 1 January 2007.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The latest available data are for 2007 and shown in the following table.
	Annual statistics on work permit holders and their dependants given leave to enter the United Kingdom are published in Table 2.5 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 'Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2007' which is available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1008.pdf
	
		
			  Passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom as work permit holders and dependants, excluding EEA nationals, 2007( 1,2) 
			Number of persons 
			  Period  Work permit holders( 3)  Dependants of work permit holders 
			 1st Quarter 22,710 10,425 
			 2nd Quarter 23,385 9,950 
			 3rd Quarter 23,415 10,570 
			 4th Quarter 16,785 6,800 
			
			 Total 86,295 37,745 
			 (1) Provisional. (2) Data rounded to the nearest five. (3) Includes work permit trainees.

Work Permits: Overseas Students

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many overseas students have been granted visas to work in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) nationality,  (b) age and  (c) sex; what the average time taken by her Department to process such visa requests is; what recent representations she has received on work visas for overseas students; what steps she has (i) recently taken and (ii) plans to take to reduce the time taken to process such visa requests; how many such applications have been rejected in the last three years; on what grounds; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many students from  (a) Colombia and  (b) the Maldives studying at UK universities have been granted visas to work in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) age and (ii) sex; what the average time taken by her Department to process such visa applications is; how many such applications were outstanding at the latest date for which figures are available; how many such applications have been rejected in the last three years; on what grounds; what steps she has (A) taken and (B) plans to take to reduce the time taken to process such visa applications; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is as follows:
	 Overseas students
	To accurately identify those who switched from student to employment status would involve reviewing each case individually which would result in disproportional costs.
	 Service  s tandards
	The current performance against service standards can be found on the UKBA website. The current service standards were introduced in 2005. Performances against the work permits and HSMP service standards are illustrated in Annex A. New services standards will be introduced as the Points Based System is fully rolled out.
	Further information on service standards can be found in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Control of Immigration: Statistics UK—ISSN 1358-51 OX.
	Section 4 of the publication details the official statistics relating to after-entry control (please see following table).
	
		
			  Annex A: Highly skilled migrant programme and work permits service standards 
			  Percentage 
			  Target  2007  2006  2005 
			  Highly skilled migrant programme
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 25 working days 90 87 83 
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 70 working days 96 97 93 
			 
			  Work permits
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 5 working days 60 75 74 
			 Percentage of applications cleared within 15 working days 88 92 91

Youth Mobility Scheme

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries have expressed interest in participating in her Department's Youth Mobility Scheme; and in respect of each, whether her Department has  (a) accepted it into the scheme,  (b) rejected it as unsuitable and  (c) still to take a decision.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 6 October 2008
	We have agreed with our counterparts that discussions need to remain confidential in order for countries to feel able to explore their possible involvement and make any appropriate adjustments to fulfil all the criteria for inclusion in the scheme before any public statements about their involvement are made. No final decision has yet been taken on the inclusion of any countries on the Youth Mobility Scheme but a list of participating countries will be published in the Immigration Rules before the scheme is launched at the end of November and this list will continue to be updated as and when countries join or leave the scheme.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members' Centre

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate has been made of the  (a) administrative and  (b) maintenance costs of the Members' Centre in Portcullis House in its first year of operation.

Nick Harvey: The centre opened on 1 July. Staff costs to date have been £32,070. Staff costs for a full year to 30 June 2009 are estimated to be £134,100. Only £7,070 of the staff costs to date, and £34,100 of the full year costs, represents a net increase in spending because the remainder of the staff costs have been met by redeploying staff within the Department of Information Services. Full year maintenance costs, based on an average cost per square metre in Portcullis House, are estimated to be £4,000. It is not possible to distinguish other administrative costs. Most of these would have arisen in any case if the centre had not existed.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government has taken to assist apprentices with the costs of the apprenticeship scheme.

Si�n Simon: There is no cost to apprentices for the delivery of their apprenticeship. The Department funds training providers or employers directly for the cost of delivering an apprenticeship framework. Apprentices are waged or receive an allowance from their employer like other employees. Apprentices bear the normal costs associated with employment such as travelling and meals.

Higher Education: Asylum

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what procedures are in place to allow  (a) asylum seekers under the age of 18 years and  (b) asylum seekers who are 18 years old or over to obtain education and training; what guidance is given to universities; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The children of asylum seekers have the same rights as all other children in the United Kingdom during the period of compulsory education. All 16 to 18-year-old asylum seekers are eligible for Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding in respect of their attendance on a further education course in the same way as UK students.
	Asylum seekers aged 19 or over are treated as UK students for the purpose of fees for further education where they have been legally in the UK for longer than six months pending consideration of their application for asylum or where they have failed in their claim but have been granted support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This follows the granting of concessions to enable asylum seekers to access LSC funding in certain circumstances, for example for courses teaching English for speakers of other languages. Otherwise they are treated as international students, and may be required to cover the full cost of their course. However an FE college or provider has discretion over the level of fee that they actually charge.
	Asylum seekers access higher education courses as international students and can expect to be charged the full cost of their course by the university concerned. However, universities have discretion over the level of fee that they actually charge. The Higher Education Refugees and Asylum Seekers network provides guidance on the detailed rules which apply.

Higher Education: Community Relations

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government has taken to encourage colleges and universities to provide access to their facilities for the local community.

David Lammy: Further Education colleges provide a broad range of services to their local communities, not just in education but in support of broader aims relating to economic development, cohesion and social mobility. Colleges draw most of their students from the local area and work in partnership with other local organisations to determine how their strengths, including their premises and facilities, can best meet their community's needs.
	We are supporting them in this through record investment in buildings and equipment. Over the last 10 years, Government investment in the FE estate, including ICT, has totalled 2.4 billion.
	The Learning and Skills Council is currently assessing the extent and nature of colleges' provision of wider community activities including the community's use of college facilities and will publish its findings in November. We will draw on these findings to identify good practice and to see what more might be done to support this aspect of colleges' work.
	The DIUS consultation Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead identified the need for low cost, accessible learning venues as a key issue. DIUS will work with other Government Departments and local authorities to consider how access to a wide range of public spaces, including colleges, can be encouraged and supported to provide free or subsidised venues for book clubs, family history or other groups of people learning for pleasure.
	Higher education institutions (HEIs) engage with the public in many ways, including providing access to sports facilities, museums, theatres and galleries; community volunteering by staff and students; and creating lifelong learning opportunities for a diverse body of learners. In 2006/07, over 110,000 people attended charged public lectures (and additionally 650,000 attended free events), and around 1,400,000 attended charged performance arts events organised by HEIs (and 412,000 attended free performance events). In addition, over 6,000 non-commercial partners, such as social, community and cultural organisations have benefited from the use of over 38 million worth of HEI facilities and equipments over the same period.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has recently published the confirmed distribution for 2008-11 of nearly 400 million to HEIs from the Higher Education Innovation Fund round 4 (HEIF 4), following approval of HEI strategies for its work to engage with social, cultural and community organisations, as well as businesses and public services (HEFCE Report 2008/34). An overview and assessment of these strategies is also available (HEFCE Report 2008/35).

Higher Education: Intellectual Property

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on exploitation of intellectual property in universities in the last three years.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and its predecessors and agencies have commissioned four pieces of work on intellectual property and universities during the last three years. In August 2007, an independent report Streamlining University/Business collaborative research negotiations was submitted to the 'Funders Forum' of the Department. The SPRU (science and technology policy research unit, university of Sussex) reports Exploiting University Intellectual Property in the UK (January 2008) and Disentangling knowledge transfer: Maximising university revenue, or social and economic benefit, or both? (May 2008) investigated approaches and attitudes to IP exploitation at universities. Most recently Professor Paul Wellings, Vice Chancellor of Lancaster university, has undertaken a review of intellectual property and research benefits, and his report will be finalised very shortly.

Higher Education: Standards

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Government have taken to improve the quality of higher education since 1997.

David Lammy: Working with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) we have supported the continuing enhancement of high quality teaching and learning in higher education (HE) through the core grant and a range of targeted initiatives.
	In 1997 an independent body, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), was established to provide an integrated quality assurance service for UK HE. HEFCE has statutory responsibility for the quality assessment of HE in institutions that it funds, and it contracts with the QAA to fulfil this responsibility and to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of HE qualifications.
	In addition to a programme of institutional audit, the QAA defines clear and explicit standards for HE, both for public information and as reference points for their quality assurance services. These include a framework for HE qualifications, subject benchmark statements, programme specifications, and the code of practice in HE.
	We have encouraged the HE sector's introduction of the publication of a range of accurate and up to date information about each institution on the website www.unistats.ac.uk. This includes the results of the National Student Survey (NSS) which asks final year students for views on the quality of their teaching and learning experience. The results serve to inform prospective students and promote continuous improvement in institutions. Since it started the NSS has shown a high level of consistency in relation to overall student satisfaction with the quality of their courses around 80 per cent. from 2005 to 2008.
	We have also worked in partnership with the sector to raise the status and profile of teaching in HE through:
	the introduction in 2000 of the national teaching fellowship scheme to reward and recognise teaching excellence and spread good practice;
	the creation of the HE academy in 2004 to support institutions and individuals to provide the best possible learning experience;
	the development of 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (2005) with a focus on enhancing student learning through sharing excellent practice and promoting innovation; and
	development by the HE academy in 2006 of new professional standards for teaching in HE.

Higher Education: Student Wastage

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government have taken to increase completion rates of university degrees.

David Lammy: We are maintaining very good completion rates for first degrees with the latest statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that the UK ranks 3rd of the 27 countries reporting data in this area. This has been achieved and maintained during a period when higher education has been opened up to both increased numbers and a greater diversity of students.
	However, the Government are not complacent and accept that there is more that we could do, which is why we welcomed the recommendations of the National Audit Office study and the follow-on Public Accounts Committee report on the retention of students in higher education.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England is taking forward these recommendations and working with the higher education sector to disseminate good practice and help higher education institutions learn from what works well elsewhere. HEFCE held regional workshops last spring to examine these issues and they are joint funding seven projects with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation over the next three years to inform better targeting of institutional support for students.

Learning Disability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government have taken to provide support to students who have learning difficulties.

David Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England provides higher education institutions with funding to support disabled students through the mainstream disability allocation. The Council's overall disability funding allocation for the sector has increased from 7 million in 2000/01 (when it was introduced) to 13 million in 2008/09.
	We also provide funding directly to students through disabled students' allowances (DSAs), which can help to remove the obstacles that prevent disabled students (including students with specific learning difficulties) from entering and completing higher education courses. In 2006/07, the latest year for which figures are available, we provided approximately 81 million to 38,000 students.
	From this academic year the non-medical helper's allowance (for undergraduates) and the postgraduate allowance will be increased by around 60 per cent. These increases mean that
	the maximum amount of DSA for non-medical helpers has increased from 12,420 in 2007/08 to 20,000 in 2008/09 for full-time undergraduates, and from 9,315 to 15,000 for part-time undergraduates.
	the maximum amount of the DSA for postgraduate students has increased from 5,915 in 2007/08 to 10,000 in 2008/09.
	DSAs are provided in addition to the standard student support package; they are not means tested and do not have to be repaid.

Mathematics: General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of over 16 year-olds who do not have a grade C or above in mathematics at GCSE or an equivalent qualification.

Si�n Simon: The Skills for Life survey in 2003 estimated the literacy and numeracy levels and functional ability of adults in England. The Skills for Life survey reported that 13 per cent. of adults aged 16-65 achieved a D-G grade or equivalent in GCSE maths. 42 per cent. have a maths GCSE A*-C grade or equivalent and 45 per cent. do not have a maths qualification at GCSE level.

Students: Loans

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of the student loan book has been sold in accordance with the provisions of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008.

David Lammy: No sales of income-contingent repayment student loans have yet been made. We are continuing to prepare for the first such sale and are monitoring market conditions accordingly.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Underspent Budgets

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department treats individual country budgets underspent in a financial year.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 104W, (UIN 224475).

St. Helena: Airports

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when a decision will be made on tenders for the construction of an airport on the Island of St. Helena; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I expect a decision to be made shortly.

JUSTICE

Cemeteries: Lancashire

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on topple testing in cemeteries in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen.

Jack Straw: I have received a number of representations in my capacity as Member of Parliament for Blackburn. I therefore understand fully the concerns of my hon. Friend about this matter. My officials are currently working with the Health and Safety Executive and industry stakeholders to clarify what health and safety legislation does and does not require in respect of assessing and dealing with risks presented by unstable gravestones and ensuring proper communication with relatives.

Departmental Data Protection

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many instances of data lost by Government Departments there have been in the last 12 months.

Tom Watson: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 25-26WS.
	Data losses by Government Departments are included in annual reporting for 2007-08 published by Departments.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many notifications  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies made to the Information Commissioner following the loss or mishandling of personal information or data in each of the last three years; and what was notified in each case.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has published details of the personal data related incidents notified to the Information Commissioner's Office in 2007-08 in its resource accounts laid before this House on 21 July 2008.
	Before 2007 the Information Commissioner's Office did not specifically keep records of instances of security breaches. No formal notifications were made.
	I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 25 June 2008, providing the final report on measures for data handling procedures in government.

Departmental ICT

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many encrypted memory sticks have been supplied to  (a) prison service staff,  (b) National Offender Management Service staff,  (c) National Probation Service staff,  (d) court and judicial staff and  (e) District, Circuit and High Court Judges and Lord Justices of Appeal.

Jack Straw: The National Offender Management Service (including the National Probation Service and the Prison Service) has issued guidance to all staff, whether permanent or under contract, that they should only use encrypted memory sticks. Approved procurement arrangements have been put in place to enable staff to purchase suitable devices for their use. The rest of the Ministry of Justice has been instructed not to use non-approved memory sticks.

Departmental Legislation

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Answer by Lord Hunt of King's Heath of 7 July 2008,  Official Report, House of Lords, column 61WA, on crime: new offences, what the timetable for the assembly of the information is; and if he will place a copy in the Library when it has been prepared.

Maria Eagle: The information requested involved a manual trawl through primary and subordinate legislation from the past 11 years. I have today placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Public Relations

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months.

Michael Wills: The following tables show how much the Ministry of Justice and its predecessor, (the Department for Constitutional Affairs) and its agencies has spent in each of the last 36 months through the Central Office of Information's Public Relations Framework.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice 
			  Department area  2006-07 ()  2007-08 ()  2008-09 ()  PR/marketing company 
			 HQ 5,522 31,040  Four Communications 
			  
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service  8,400  Amazon PR 
			   35,478  Good Relations 
			   1,880  Four Communications 
			  
			 Office of the Public Guardian  50,000  Amazon PR 
			  
			 National Offender Management Service  33,619  The Red Consultancy 
			  --  120,657 Fishburn Hedges 
			  
			 Office for Criminal Reform  36,500  Good Relations 
			  
			 Total 5,522 196,917 120,657  
		
	
	
		
			  Former Department of Constitutional Affairs 
			  Department area  2005-06 ()  2006-07 ()  2008-09 ()  PR/marketing company 
			 Her Majesty's Courts Service 17,500 4,550 n/a Blue Rubicon Four Communications 
			 Total 17,500 4,550 n/a  
		
	
	
		
			  Department Agencies 
			  Agency  2006-07 ()  2007-08 ()  2008-09 ()  PR/marketing company 
			 HM Land Registry 104,892.92 97,623.85  The Forster Company 
			  
			 Judicial Appointments Commission 4,340   Luther Pendragon 
			  
			 Total 190,232.92 97,623.85

EU Law

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many officials in his Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Michael Wills: This Government are firmly committed to the importance of the EU in delivering on 21(st) century challenges. The EU is of central importance to the work of HM Government across all Departments. It is relevant to a wide range of policy areas, and to the work of many Government officials.
	Within the Ministry of Justice, there are currently 22 officials in total who are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or the administration of EU legislation and consequent policies.

Offenders: Ex-servicemen

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many ex-service personnel have been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to custody in the last five years;
	(2)  how many personnel who were discharged from the Army in the last five years have been subsequently convicted of a criminal offence;
	(3)  what the prison population is in England and Wales; and how many of those prisoners have served in the armed forces in the last 10 years.

David Hanson: At the end of August 2008 there were 83,406 prisoners detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales.
	This figure was drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	Data from nationally representative surveys of some 2,000 sentenced prisoners near release conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 show the proportion of prisoners who had previously served in the armed forces as 6 per cent., 4 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively.
	We are unable to identify the occupation of an offender from the Court Proceedings Database. As such, we cannot tell the number of ex-service personnel that are convicted and sentenced to immediate custody.
	Information held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform cannot separately identify the occupation of the defendant.

Powers of Entry

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by his Department and its predecessor has (i) amended and (ii) enhanced existing powers of entry since May 1997.

Michael Wills: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State for the Home Office my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker) on 7 October 2008,  Official Report, column 577W.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Procedural Reform

Graham Allen: To ask the Leader of the House what procedural reforms of the House of Commons she and her predecessors have instigated since July 2001.

Chris Bryant: The Government have continued since 2001 to advance their programme of procedural reform in the Commons. This has included modernisation of sitting hours and the publication in advance of an annual parliamentary calendar.
	There has been improved topicality with a reduced notice period for oral questions, the introduction of topical questions and debates, more effective limits for speaking times, and introduction of the tabling of written questions in September
	The establishment of evidence-taking opportunities at the committee stage of Bills, improved explanatory material and plainer language for legislation, publication of a draft legislative programme, and the introduction of a new process to promote post-legislative scrutiny has enhanced Members' ability to scrutinise legislation.
	The strengthening of Select Committees and payment of salaries to Committee Chairs, had encouraged greater examination of Government, with enhanced scrutiny of the Prime Minster by the Liaison Committee.

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums her Office conducted in each of the last two years; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost to her Office was of each such consultation.

Chris Bryant: The Leader of the House has initiated the following, which could be considered be either a public forum or listening exercise:
	
		
			  Public forum/ listening exercise  Date announced  Reference in Official Report  Cost () 
			 Draft Legislative Programme public consultation 2007 11 July 2007 Vol. 462, Col. 1449 81,612(1) 
			 Review of European Scrutiny 25 October 2007 Vol. 465, Col. 443 0 
			 Review of Parliamentary pay and pensions conducted by Sir John Baker 16 January 2008 Vol. 470, Col 32WS 11,696.40(1) 
			 Review of topical debates 7 February 2008 Vol. 471, Col. 83WS 0 
			 Draft Legislative Programme public consultation 2008 14 May 2008 Vol. 475, Col. 1385 62,957.38(1) 
			 Review of the Parliamentary Pension Scheme 17 June 2008 Vol. 477, Col. 45WS (1) 
			 Parliamentary audit and practice assurance 16 July 2008 Vol. 479, Col. 31WS 5,354 
			 (1) A11, or part, of these costs were paid for by the Cabinet Office. 2 This review has not yet been completed.

Dorneywood

James Duddridge: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr. Haude) of 19 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: Official Hospitality, what use her Office has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months.

Harriet Harman: None.

Members' Staff: Redundancy Pay

Lynne Jones: To ask the Leader of the House whether the redundancy arrangements available to staff of hon. Members will be part of the next Senior Salaries Review Body review of parliamentary pay, pensions and allowances.

Chris Bryant: The Senior Salaries Review Body is due to conduct a review of parliamentary pay shortly after the next general election. It is expected that this review will also include parliamentary pensions and allowances. Careful consideration will be given as to the issues across these areas that should be brought to the attention the Review Body. However, as it may be up to 18 months before the Review Body begin their work it would be inappropriate to begin setting out now the detailed topics to be considered.

Members' Staff: Redundancy Pay

Lynne Jones: To ask the Leader of the House how much, on average, staff of hon. Members received in redundancy payments in each of the last 10 years.

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Leader of the House how much on average staff of hon. Members received in redundancy payments in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Bryant: Most redundancies involving hon. Members' staff arise from a Member leaving the House at a general election. Members' staff contracts specify that when a redundancy occurs the amount payable is set at the statutory rate, which is linked to a formula which takes account of salary, length of service and age.
	In addition, Members can, at their discretion, top-up or match this contractual entitlement from their parliamentary allowances, or make a discretionary payment where there is no eligibility to a payment at the statutory rate.
	The average redundancy payment in each year since 2003-04 was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount () 
			 2003-04 3,251 
			 2004-05 3,420 
			 2005-06 3,262 
			 2006-07 5,194 
			 2007-08 3,922 
		
	
	Information is not readily available for prior years.

Regional Committees

David Heath: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to bring forward proposals for the orders of reference for regional Select Committees.

Harriet Harman: On 21 July, the Government published their proposal on the introduction of regional committeesboth Select Committees and Grand Committeesin response to the third report from the Modernisation Committee. As indicated in that response, we intend to bring forward the detailed proposals in the period before the end of the current Session with the hope that the committeesif approved by the Housecould begin work in the new year.

PRIME MINISTER

Cabinet: Birmingham

Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people from the public who attended the Cabinet meeting events in Birmingham.

Gordon Brown: The visit of the Cabinet to Birmingham was preceded by several ministerial visits across the region; a public engagement event with approximately 250 people was followed by a formal Cabinet meeting and an economic event.
	In addition, I have today placed in the Library of the House the Response to Cabinet public engagement event Birmingham 2008, copies are also available on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/events/birmingham.aspx

Cabinet: Birmingham

Pete Wishart: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost was of the Cabinet visit to Birmingham, broken down by  (a) staff time,  (b) staff travel,  (c) staff accommodation,  (d) Ministerial travel,  (e) Ministerial accommodation,  (f) hire and additional costs of venue,  (g) publicity,  (h) security and  (i) costs of Ministerial visits and photocalls associated with the Cabinet visit.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Members for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley) and for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson) on 17 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2229W.

Departmental Buildings

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister which organisations have received  (a) free and  (b) discounted room hire from (i) his office and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Phil Hope) on 10 September 2008,  Official Report, column 1830W.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister which projects his office has commissioned form  (a) think tanks and  (b) charities in each of the last two years for which figures are available; what the aim of each project was; which think tank or charity was commissioned; and how much was paid.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Member for Cardiff, West (kevin Brennan) the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, column 651W.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Prime Minister how many and what proportion of staff in his office are disabled; and what the average salary in his office is of  (a) full-time disabled staff,  (b) full-time non-disabled staff,  (c) part-time disabled staff and  (d) part-time non-disabled staff.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East on 8 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 651-57W.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

Building Capacity in the Third Sector

Greg Clark: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission when the National Audit Office plans to publish its report Building Capacity in the Third Sector; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the report.

Alan Williams: The Public Accounts Commission is responsible for oversight of the National Audit Office's funding and governance, but the Comptroller and Auditor General has complete discretion in the discharge of his work programme. The hon. Member may wish to write directly to the C and AG about the report referred to.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Victim and Witness Support

David Kidney: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Attorney-General's office and Crown Prosecution Service have taken to improve support provided by the criminal justice system for victims and witnesses with mental health difficulties.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service has taken a number of important steps with its criminal justice partners to improve support for victims and witnesses with mental health problems. They include needs assessments conducted by the police and witness care officers that assist the prosecutor in considering what support is necessary both in court and outside.

Human Trafficking

Peter Bone: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions the Crown Prosecution Service has brought for offences of human trafficking in the last three years.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service's records show that the following prosecutions have been brought on charges under sections 57, 58 and 59 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, alleging trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation in the last three years:
	
		
			   Number of prosecutions 
			 2005-06 18 
			 2006-07 40 
			 2007-08 87 
		
	
	These data relate only to the number of charged offences which reached first hearing in the magistrates courts.
	Human trafficking cases may also be prosecuted under other legislation for offences such as assisting unlawful immigration to a member state (facilitation), or other serious offences such as rape, kidnapping, false imprisonment, threats to kill and causing or inciting prostitution for gain.

Prosecutions: Cannabis

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service against people found running cannabis factories in the last five years.

Vera Baird: Offences relating to the cultivation of cannabis are prosecuted under s6 (2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. However, there is no distinct offence of running a cannabis factory, nor an agreed definition of what constitutes a cannabis factory, and therefore no discrete figures are held for such proceedings.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Fuels

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment his Department has made of improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency  (a) in the last 20 years and  (b) in the next 20 years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The Department for Transport published its forecasts of UK air passenger demand and UK aviation CO2 emissions in November 2007. Assumptions on future improvements in aircraft fuel efficiency were inputs to that process and are described in full in chapter 3 of UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts. An assessment of past trends in fuel efficiency is also presented. The document can be viewed at
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/airpassdemandfullreport.pdf.

Shipping: Fuels

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to ensure that changes to the permitted level of sulphur content in marine fuel oils do not lead to disproportionate cost increases for UK ferry operators.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 8 October 2008
	The Government are currently in the process of transposing the existing Annex VI (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) of MARPOL into UK law and will be following this legislation with the implementation of the EU Sulphur Content
	of Liquid Fuels Directive.
	These measures have been agreed internationally and regionally and establish standards for the sulphur content of marine fuels. MARPOL Annex VI applies to all vessels equally while the EC measure targets emissions in port and from vessels engaged in regular service between EC ports.
	In implementing Annex VI, the Government have undertaken a series of consultations and sought to ensure that the measures are applied in a fair, transparent and equal manner across the maritime sector to ensure a level playing field for the industry. A further consultation on the EC Directive will be carried out in the spring of 2009.
	Additionally the revisions to Annex VI of MARPOL have been developed as a result of work by an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) group of experts and take account of the cost and availability of fuel. The implementation of this will in due course be subject to UK consultation.

Shipping: Fuels

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts about changes to the level of sulphur content in marine fuel oil in ships operating in environmental control areas.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 8 October 2008
	Department for Transport officials are involved in regular discussions with officials from other member states and the European Commission on the issue of the sulphur content of marine fuels.
	Recently there have been a series of both formal and informal experts meetings and other events hosted by the Commission considering emissions from shipping, notably in advance of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) negotiations on the revision of MARPOL Annex VI (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships). These discussions have focused around both the actual standards to be included in the revised Annex and the implications for the cost and supply of fuel.
	The successful outcome at IMO on these revisions was in large part down to the work by EU member states to develop a compromise text that was agreed as being a significant advance on current standards while being financially and practically achievable by the international shipping community. Subsequent to this agreement member states have continued to coordinate on the issue in advance of implementation of the revised annex.

Shipping: Fuels

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the UK ferry industry of the proposed change to the MARPOL regulations to reduce sulphur levels in marine fuel oil.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 8 October 2008
	Prior to entering into negotiations on the revised Annex VI package at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Government consulted the shipping sector within the UK through the relevant trade associations. During work to finalise the revisions, the UK delegation worked closely with industry colleagues to confirm they were content with the final package.
	The implications for the ferry industry have been discussed within EU working groups and the European Commission have confirmed they are undertaking work to consider the implications of the proposed package for the short sea sector. Additionally, the UK will undertake an impact assessment considering these issues and officials are currently developing proposals to undertake research into the environmental and economic implications of the revised Annex VI package which will consider the ferry sector.

TREASURY

Bank Notes: Visually Impaired

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to introduce paper currency with identifiable marks to assist visually-impaired individuals.

Ian Pearson: The existing features in Bank of England banknotes that are intended to assist the visually-impaired to recognise different banknotes are
	(a) the four denominations are different sizes and colours;
	(b) each note, except for the 50 which is an old design, carries large numerals of the denomination in a colour that is markedly differentiated from the background;
	(c) all the notes are designed to look different from other currencies
	This approach reflects consultation with the Royal National Institute of Blind People. The Bank will continue to take account of the views of the RNIB and others representing the partially sighted.

Child Benefit

Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average time taken to process child benefit applications in respect of first-born children was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available.

Excise Duties: Kerosene

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what level of duty was charged on kerosene in each year since 2001.

Angela Eagle: Historical duty rates for kerosene are given in HM Revenue and Customs' website at:
	http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true_pageLabel=page Excise_RatesCodesToolspropertyType=documentid=HMCE_ PROD1_023552

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 7 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 912-13W, on housing: valuation, if he will rank each individual locality according to the value significance of its coefficient.

Stephen Timms: The coefficient referred to is calculated by the automated valuation model using multiple regression analysis. The calculations use information specific to a valuation area (usually a billing authority) and so it is not possible to rank them.

Housing: Valuation

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 18 June 2008,  Official Report, column 988W, on housing: valuation, how many localities there are in each individual billing area.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W.

Income Tax: Foreign Workers

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much income tax revenue was received from non-UK citizens working in the UK in 2007-08.

Stephen Timms: Information on income tax contributions paid by non-UK citizens is not reported separately.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford's letter of 21 July 2008 concerning Mr. S. Browne of Coval Lane, Chelmsford, sent to the Financial Secretary.

Ian Pearson: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Repossession Orders

Sally Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of housing repossessions; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: On 2 September, the Government announced a significant package of measures to help borrowers in difficulty, help first time buyers and support the house-building industry. Further details of these measures are available on the websites of the Treasury, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Government also provide assistance for homeowners facing financial difficulties through the provision of debt advice. They announced in May 2008 a 10 million package of measures to ensure that financial advice and support is available for borrowers who may need it. Details of the announcement are available on the Treasury website.

Revenue and Customs

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases were pursued in each of the last nine financial years by HM Revenue and Customs in respect of Regulation 49 of the Income Tax (Employee) Regulations 1993 and section 8 of the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 1999; and of these, how many led to HM Revenue and Customs lodging an appeal in the High Court.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs do not hold this specific data.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of tax relief on pensions which is claimed by higher rate taxpayers.

Ian Pearson: The proportion of tax relief on individual and employees' pension contributions that is claimed by higher rate taxpayers is estimated to be 60 per cent. The equivalent figures for employer contributions are not available.
	This figure is sourced from 2005-06 survey data that have been adjusted to account for the 2008-09 tax rates, and have been rounded to the nearest 5 per cent.

Tax Yields

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the tax revenue accruing to the Exchequer in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Angela Eagle: The latest central Government total current receipts forecasts were provided in Budget 2008. Updated forecasts will be provided in the forthcoming 2008 pre-Budget report.

Taxation

Bob Neill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's policy is on the levying of retrospective taxation.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 6 October 2008
	The Government believe it is important to have a stable tax system that provides certainty for individuals and businesses, along with a commitment to fairness. The Government have therefore always limited the use of provisions applied to taxable events that have occurred prior to the enactment of the new policy. Only where the Government consider that it is necessary to protect revenue and also that it is fair, proportionate and in the public interest, will such provisions be used.

Valuation Office: Information and Communications Technology

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the title is of the mapping product that the Valuation Office Agency has licensed from TENET.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 140W.

Valuation Office: Rightmove

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the status is of the contractual arrangement between Rightmove.co.uk plc and the Valuation Office; and whether the Valuation Office Agency continues to use the Rightmove interface to collect property data on domestic dwellings.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 1106-07W.

VAT: Registration

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what time scale targets are placed on HM Revenue and Customs to register applications by companies for value added tax purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs do not have a time scale target for companies alone but have a departmental strategic objective to process 70 per cent. of VAT registration applications from all businesses within 10 days by 2010-11.

VAT: Registration

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new companies are waiting for their applications for registration for value added tax purposes to be finalised by HM Revenue and Customs; what the longest waiting time was in the last three years from date of application; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs does not separately identify applications received from companies.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Public Sector: Learning Disability

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the percentage of people in employment in the public sector who are categorised as having learning difficulties.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the percentage of people in employment in the public sector who are categorised as having learning difficulties. (214291)
	For the three month period ending in June 2008, it is estimated that 0.3 per cent of people who reported that they were employed in the public sector said that they had severe or specific learning difficulties.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Alternatives to Imprisonment

Si�n James: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues about alternatives to imprisonment for women.

Maria Eagle: The Government are fully committed to providing appropriate alternatives to custody for women who are not violent or dangerous, in line with Baroness Corston's review of vulnerable women in the criminal justice system. I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on this matter through the Inter Ministerial Group on reducing re-offending and the Inter Ministerial sub-group on Corston implementation.

Toilet Facilities

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what her policy is on the provision of an equivalent level of toilet facilities for men and women at places of entertainment.

Maria Eagle: Guidance on provision of toilet facilities is set out in British Standard 6465 parts 1 and 2.

Equal Pay

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government is taking to ensure that men and women receive equal pay for work of equal value; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Government fund organisations ACAS, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and BusinessLink, to which employees and employers can go to for advice and support. We introduced the equal pay questionnaire in 2003 to help people who believe they may not have received equal pay. They can use this to request vital information from their employers in order to establish whether they have a case.

Equal Pay

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap.

Maria Eagle: The Government's proposals for the Equality Bill include the banning of secrecy clauses which prevent people discussing their own pay, extending the use of positive action, and getting public bodies to report on important inequalities such as gender pay. The Government will also work with business and unions to improve pay transparency, and consider the case for introducing representative actions in discrimination cases.

Workplace Sexism

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle sexism in the workplace.

Maria Eagle: We are taking steps to strengthen parental rights, improve provision of child care and extend the right to request flexible working. We have also strengthened laws to tackle sexual harassment and protect pregnant women. We are tackling low pay in the workplace through the national minimum wage and tax credits. There is still more to do, and we intend to take further steps through the Equality Bill.

Rape Crisis Centres

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what proportion of the emergency funding for rape crisis centres, announced in March, has been distributed.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller).

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Minister has responsibility for the academies programme; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I am the Minister responsible for the academies programme.
	There are now 130 academies open in 62 local authorities, with a further four projected to open in January 2009 (taking the totals to 134 in 64 LAs). I anticipate that a further 80 will open in 2009 and a further 100 in 2010.
	The Government are committed to establishing at least 400 academies nationwide; and the National Challenge, launched this year by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State, has led to a further acceleration of the academies programme.
	Self-reported provisional data from academies show that in this year's GCSE results, academies have increased by around five percentage points the proportion of pupils with at least five good GCSE results including English and maths compared to last year. This is the third year running that academies are likely to have achieved a substantially better improvement rate than the national average for all schools.

Academies: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the number of children in academies in each year from 2002 to 2008; what proportion was entitled to free school meals in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and academies: school meal arrangements( 1: ) Position in January each year 2003 to 2008: England 
			   Maintained secondary schools  Academies 
			   Number of pupils (used for FSM calculation)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  % of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Number of pupils (used for FSM calculation)  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  % of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 2003 3,308,490 478,920 14.5 2,720 1,230 45.3 
			 2004 3,326,800 477,290 14.3 10.220 4,250 41.6 
			 2005 3,317,590 485,520 14.0 15.200 5,920 39.0 
			 2006 3,309,720 448,680 13.6 25,310 8,480 33.5 
			 2007 3,272,480 429,700 13.1 41,560 13,890 33.4 
			 2008 3,214,031 410,810 12.8 74,530 21,630 29.0 
			 (1) Pupils are recorded as eligible only if a claim for free school meals has been made.  Note  Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census

Academies: Governors

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) parent governors and  (b) local authority governors there are for each academy; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We do not hold information on the precise number of parent and LA governors for each academy, but as part of their funding agreements, all academies must have at least one local authority representative on their governing body, and at least one parent governor.
	Where the local authority is a co-sponsor, the lead sponsor retains majority control over the Academy Trust, but can appoint two local authority appointed governors to the governing body.

Academies: Grants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what start-up grants are made available to new academies; how long they last; and what their average amount is.

Jim Knight: New academies are eligible for two types of start-up grants. Start-up grant (a) is for books, materials and equipment. It is based on the expected pupil capacity of the academy and most of the total grant is paid in the first year after opening, although smaller amounts are payable in later years if pupil numbers are initially below 90 per cent. of capacity. Its value depends on whether there is a predecessor school and whether the academy has a sixth form. The average awarded to academies opening in 2008/09 was 873,601.
	Start-up (b) grant is paid for two main purposes: to cover senior management overhead costs while an academy is building to capacity, and to meet transitional costs, for instance those arising while building work makes some facilities unusable, or meeting curriculum commitments for students of predecessor schools. It is mostly paid in the first two or three years after opening but will continue for longer if an academy has no predecessor. Because the grant (which is partly formulaic and partly assessed from bids) depends on the circumstances of each academy, the amounts awarded vary considerably. For academies opening in 2008/09, the average awarded has been 969,104 (the median was 780,335, with sums ranging from 122,740 to 3,203,252).

Academies: Manpower

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies  (a) do and  (b) do not follow national pay and conditions for staff.

Jim Knight: The DCSF does not hold information on academy teaching staff, school leader or principals' salaries as these are matters for academy governing bodies.
	Academies governing bodies have freedom to set pay and conditions for staff. However, staff transferring from predecessor schools are protected by TUPE and so it is likely that most academies will have some teachers on national pay and conditions.
	Academies may use their freedoms around pay and conditions in order to tailor the teaching to the needs of the pupils. For example, many have varied the length of the school day and year, to better serve the demands of the pupils and communities.

Academies: Pupil Exclusions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make a statement on rates of exclusion from academies compared with other maintained schools.

Jim Knight: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Academies: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies have been identified by his Department as making inadequate improvement in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: During 2006, 2007 and 2008 there have been 21 section five inspections of academies; none have been deemed to be making inadequate progress.
	The year after each academy opens, Ofsted inspect and report on progress. Ofsted send a letter to the academy with a result of their monitoring visit which is published on their website. In the third year after opening, there is a full section 5 Ofsted inspection. During 2006, 2007 and 2008 there have been 27 monitoring visits paid to different academies. Of these, in 2007 St. Mark's C of E Academy was monitored by Ofsted who judged it was making inadequate progress in raising standards. Its progress was monitored again in 2008 and it was judged to be making inadequate progress though the significant changes in the academy's leadership were reported positively. The DCSF is working closely with governors to ensure good improvement is made before the next monitoring visit.
	Stockley Academy was monitored in March 2008 and judged at that time to be making inadequate progress. However it was monitored again in late September and at the oral feedback the inspectors judged it was now making at least satisfactory progress. The written report will be available on the Ofsted website in the next two weeks.

Academies: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what powers his Department has to intervene where academies are making inadequate progress; and how often such powers have been used.

Jim Knight: The Funding Agreements and Memorandum and Articles of Association of Academies give the Secretary of State powers to appoint extra governors to the Governing Body of an Academy, and thereby take control of the Academy, when he is satisfied that:
	The standards of performance of pupils at the Academy is unacceptably low and is likely to remain so, or
	There has been a serious breakdown in the way the Academy is managed or governed which is prejudicing, or likely to prejudice, such standards of performance, or
	The safety of pupils or staff of the Academy is threatened (whether by a breakdown of discipline or otherwise).
	Such an action would only occur after a sequence of events involving the Secretary of State warning the Governing Body about the situation and the Governing Body not responding to the problem to his satisfaction.
	The Secretary of State can also use these powers in the case of a Special Measures Termination Event. This occurs after a sequence of events involving OfSTED giving the Academy a special measures notice and finding insufficient progress on their next visit, and the Secretary of State not being satisfied with the Academy Trust's plans for dealing with the situation. The Secretary of State can also terminate the Funding Agreement in a Special Measures Termination Event.
	At present the Secretary of State has not been required to use these powers. Where there have been concerns the Department has worked with academy sponsors to address them.

Academies: Trade Unions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which academies  (a) do and  (b) do not recognise trade unions; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information centrally. However, as stated in the academies prospectus of 2007, as good employers we would expect academies to recognise staff associations.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2008,  Official Report, column 928, on the Building Schools for the Future Programme, if he will  (a) update the results for 2008 and  (b) give the dates on which the Building Schools for the Future Programme (i) began and (ii) was completed in each school.

Jim Knight: The validated 2008 GCSE results will be available in January 2009. The following table shows the Building Schools for the Future start dates for schools in the National Challenge for each wave of the programme, based on the 2007 results. The start date relates to the local authority's entry to the programme. The table also shows the same information for BSF 'One School Pathfinders' and new academies procured under the Partnerships for Schools National Framework.
	
		
			   Project -started  Number of schools completed  Number of schools in progress  Total 
			 BSF Quick Wins 2004 2 (in 2006) 0 2 
			 BSF wave 1 2004 9 (in 2008) 38 47 
			 BSF wave 2 2005 0 32 32 
			 BSF wave 3 2006 0 26 26 
			 BSF wave 4 2007 0 36 36 
			 BSF wave 5 2008 0 33 33 
			 BSF wave 6 2008 0 28 28 
			 BSF wave 6a 2008 0 20 20 
			 National framework academies 2007 0 39 39 
			 BSF 'One School Pathfinders' 2006 0 8 8 
			  
			 Total  11 260 271 
			  Note: A further six school projects are expected to be completed in the current financial year.

Children's Centres

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children starting primary school in  (a) Bassetlaw constituency,  (b) Nottinghamshire and  (c) England had previously attended a Sure Start children's centre in the latest period for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: This information is not collected centrally.

Education Maintenance Allowance

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students were entitled to education maintenance allowance in each local authority area in the academic year 2007-08; and what percentage of students took up their entitlement.

Jim Knight: Eligibility for the education maintenance allowance (EMA) is based on household income. The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not hold information on household income for every eligible 16 to 18-year-old who participates in a course that meets the EMA valid provision criteria. Therefore it is not possible to calculate the number of students who were entitled to EMA in each local authority area, or what percentage of students took up their entitlement.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what costs are incurred by students seeking to re-take  (a) mathematics and  (b) English language GCSE examinations.

Jim Knight: The amount awarding bodies charge is the same whether a candidate is retaking an examination or sitting it for the first time. Examination centres (eg schools or colleges) decide whether or not they charge candidates who wish to retake exams.
	Each awarding body based in England sets the examination fees they charge for GCSEs. The examinations and assessment regulator, Ofqual, works closely with the awarding bodies to monitor the costs of examination fees to ensure value for money. It is for the awarding bodies to publish details of these costs on their websites for each of the specifications they offer. Typically the cost of GCSE mathematics and English examinations is between 20 and 40.

General Certificate of Secondary Education

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students have taken  (a) mathematics and  (b) English language GCSE examinations for a second time in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many key stage two scripts were unmarked as at 14 July; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many key stage two and key stage three text scripts were sent out to the wrong markers in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many key stage two and key stage three text scripts were reported mislaid in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many key stage two and key stage three test markers were rejected for lack of reliability during the live marking of the tests in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what proportion of  (a) key stage two and  (b) key stage three tests in (i) science, (ii) English and (iii) mathematics were (A) marked, (B) marked with results entered into a computer system and (C) marked and returned to the relevant school by (1) 8 July and (2) 15 July 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what proportion of key stage two and key stage three scripts were sent out late to markers in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(7)  what percentage of appeals against key stage two and key stage three marking were upheld in each year from 2005 to 2008; how many appeals were received in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is responsible for the development and administration of national curriculum tests. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) administers the tests and manages the delivery contract, on QCA's behalf. David Gee, Managing Director of the NAA has written to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter has been placed in the Library.

Parents: Employment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government have taken to assist parents seeking employment with their child care responsibilities.

Beverley Hughes: In September of this year, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families announced the new Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work programme which is supported through 75 million of funding to run from January 2009 to March 2011. The programme will be piloted in 67 local authorities from January with a national roll-out from September 2009. The programme is aimed at lower income couple families where one parent is working and the second parent is not working and wishes to undertake training on route to employment.
	Funding will cover travel costs and the full cost of child care subject to a maximum of 175 (205 for London).
	The programme will look to complement other existing child care support for families moving into work such as the Free Entitlement programme for 3 and 4-year-olds, 3.5 million of support made available through tax credit every day, the Childcare Affordability Programme in London and other initiatives run through Job Centre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council.

Pupil Referral Units

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many pupils spent some time in a pupil referral unit in each year since their introduction;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of students in pupil referral units had been there for more than  (a) three months,  (b) six months,  (c) a year,  (d) two years,  (e) three years,  (f) four years and  (g) five years in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many pupils have spent more than  (a) three months,  (b) six months,  (c) a year,  (d) two years,  (e) three years,  (f) four years and  (g) five years in a pupil referral unit since their introduction.

Jim Knight: Information on how long a pupil has attended a pupil referral unit is not collected centrally.
	The available information shows the number of pupils attending a pupil referral unit in January of each year since 1999 and is shown in the table. The table excludes pupil with dual registration, information on the number of dual registrations can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information prior to 1999 can also be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Pupil referral unitsnumber of pupils in January each year :   1999 to 2008 
			   Number of pupils( 1 ) (headcount) 
			 1999 8,260 
			 2000 8,480 
			 2001 9,290 
			 2002 9,960 
			 2003 12,010 
			 2004 13,040 
			 2005 14,470 
			 2006 15,240 
			 2007 15,160 
			 2008 16,100 
			 (1) Excludes dually registered pupils. Includes pupils with other providers in pupil referral units.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 14 year olds  (a) not entitled and  (b) entitled to free school meals achieved level five in English, mathematics and science at key stage 3 in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The proportion of Key Stage 3 pupils  (a) not entitled to free school meals and  (b) entitled to free school meals who achieved level five and above in English, mathematics and science for 2007 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to  free school meals  Entitled to  free school meals 
			 English 78 52 
			 Mathematics 79 55 
			 Science 77 49 
			  Source: National Pupil Database (provisional figures) 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the in the Statistical First Release National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2006/07
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml,
	published in November 2007.
	The equivalent figures for 2006 are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to  free school meals  Entitled to  free school meals 
			 English 77 50 
			 Mathematics 81 56 
			 Science 77 48 
			  Source: National Pupil Database (revised figures) 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the in the Statistical First Release National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2005/06 (Revised)
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000708/index.shtml,
	published in February 2007.
	Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 7-year-olds  (a) not entitled and  (b) entitled to free school meals achieved level two in literacy and numeracy at key stage 1 in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The proportion of 7-year-olds  (a) not entitled to free school meals and  (b) entitled to free school meals who achieved level two and above in reading, writing and mathematics for 2007 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to  free school meals  Entitled to  free school meals 
			 Reading 87 69 
			 Writing 84 63 
			 Mathematics 92 80 
			  Source: National Pupil Database. 
		
	
	Further details can be found in the Statistical First Release National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2006/07
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml.
	published in November 2007.
	The equivalent figures for 2006 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  Subject  Not entitled to  free school meals  Entitled to  free school meals 
			 Reading 88 69 
			 Writing 85 65 
			 Mathematics 92 80 
		
	
	Further details can be found in Statistical First Release National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2005/06
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000693/index.shtml
	published in November 2006.
	Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Pupils: Special Educational Needs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps the Government has taken to provide assistance to children who fall behind in writing and mathematics in school.

Jim Knight: The Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics offers access to a broad range of guidance and resources to support teachers in planning and ensuring their teaching is personalised to the needs of every child. In addition to this we have established the Every Child a Writer and Every Child Counts programmes. Our Children's Plan commitment is to ensure each programme reaches every local authority by 2010/11, and alongside Every Child a Reader we will invest 169 million in ensuring every child masters the basics. All local authorities and schools must have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which provides advice on their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for pupils' special educational needs.

Schools: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many requests for marking reviews of  (a) key stage 2 and  (b) key stage 3 2008 tests were received before 30 September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The National Assessment Agency, which administers National Curriculum Tests on behalf of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, is currently unable to publish figures related to the number of reviews received by 30 September. Work is still under way to reconcile data, particularly around review applications for English reading and writing. In addition, review applications continue to be received from schools that have had late delivery of scripts and/or results from prime marking.

Schools: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children eligible for free school meals received an A grade in  (a) mathematics,  (b) physics,  (c) chemistry,  (d) further mathematics,  (e) history,  (f) French and  (g) German A Level in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of children eligible for free school meals received an A or A* grade in (a) mathematics,  (b) English literature,  (c) English language,  (d) physics,  (e) chemistry,  (f) biology,  (g) French and  (h) German GCSE examinations in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information for 2006-07 is given in the following tables. Figures for the other years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   Pupils eligible for FSM  All pupils 
			   Number of pupils achieving A*/A  Percentage of pupils achieving A*/A  Total entries  Number of pupils achieving A*/A  Percentage of pupils achieving A*/A  Total entries 
			 Mathematics 2,871 3.7 78,618 109,837 15.6 705,887 
			 English Literature 3,458 4.1 84,022 104,704 20.0 524,707 
			 English Language 2,771 3.5 79,171 102,054 16.4 621,928 
			 Physics 333 2.2 15,054 25,168 49.0 51,374 
			 Chemistry 364 2.5 14,753 25,016 48.4 51,685 
			 Biology 386 2.5 15,306 25,773 46.8 55,089 
			 French 958 3.5 27,627 43,645 22.9 190,963 
			 German 363 2.8 13,018 17,650 23.2 76,172 
			  Note: Figures relate to pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained schools. 
		
	
	
		
			   Pupils eligible for FSM  All pupils 
			   Number achieving an  A grade at GCE A level  Percentage achieving an  A grade at GCE A level  Number of entries  Number achieving  A grades at GCE A level  Percentage achieving  A grades at GCE A level  Number of entries 
			 Biology 111 15.1 734 12,268 26.2 46,797 
			 Chemistry 104 16.6 626 11,435 32.6 35,077 
			 Physics 58 20.9 277 7,535 31.5 23,887 
			 Mathematics 203 29.6 686 23,361 43.8 53,331 
			 Further Mathematics 21 37.5 56 4,126 57.0 7,241 
			 History 66 12.4 534 10,178 25.1 40,542 
			 French 21 17.9 117 4,468 36.8 12,152 
			 German 6 12.5 48 2,080 37.0 5,615 
			  Note: Figures relate to 16-18 year olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in maintained schools.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what procedures govern the means by which capital funding is devolved to each category of maintained school; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Devolved formula capital is paid to local authorities or direct to academies, with amounts ring-fenced to be used for schools' individual priorities. No distinction is made between different categories of school. Modernised schools receive DFC at the standard rate, and unmodernised schools at the higher rate which is twice that of the standard rate.
	Academies new-build and refurbishment is funded directly by the Department. Local authorities and voluntary aided schools' governing bodies are provided with further devolved funding, calculated on a formulaic basis, which is prioritised locally across each category of school. This includes funding for modernisation, for basic need expansion, for ICT and for specialist and extended schools. Further information can be found on;
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/capialinvestment/

Schools: Finance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what advice he has given to local authorities on seeking clawbacks from individual schools' reserves; and what assessment he has made of the way in which this is being operated in Gloucestershire by the whole school forum.

Jim Knight: It is now mandatory for all local authorities to include surplus balance controls and from summer 2008 they have been required to operate clawback mechanisms for the 2007-08 revenue balances. DCSF published guidance, Applying Clawback Mechanisms to Surplus School Revenue Balances, in August 2008. The guidance can be found on the Teachernet website on the School Revenue Balances page.
	I explained in my statement to Parliament on 30 October 2007 that my Department will continue to monitor the overall level of surplus balances during the forthcoming spending review period and if the levels reported do not show a significant reduction we will come forward with further action. We have not made an individual assessment of Gloucestershire's clawback mechanism as it is a local matter for the authority and schools forum.

Schools: Languages

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each local authority have had no entrants for  (a) French,  (b) German and  (c) Spanish examinations in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information for the past three years can be found in the answer given on 30 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 428-33W to the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb).
	Further information is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Local Authorities

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each local authority area are in special measures; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of schools in special measures by local authority at the end of the spring term 2008. The analysis is based on the latest published data from Ofsted, broken down by phase of education.
	The Government have made excellent progress in reducing school failure. The overall number of schools in special measures is down from 524 at the end of the 1997/98 academic year to 254 at the end of the spring term 2008.
	
		
			  Number of schools in special measures at the end of spring term 2008 
			   Prim  PRU  Secondary  Special  Total 
			 Barnet 11 
			 Bedfordshire   1  1 
			 Bexley 2  2  4 
			 Birmingham 55 
			 Blackburn 11 
			 Bolton 33 
			 Bradford 44 
			 Brent 22 
			 Bristol 33 
			 Bromley 2   1 3 
			 Buckinghamshire 1  2  3 
			 Bury 11 
			 Calderdale 1  2  3 
			 Cambridgeshire1 1 
			 Cheshire 22 
			 Cornwall 22 
			 Cumbria 1  5  6 
			 Darlington  1   1 
			 Derby City 11 
			 Derbyshire 3  1  4 
			 Devon 4   1 5 
			 Doncaster 11 
			 Dorset 11 
			 Dudley 11 
			 Durham 22 
			 Ealing 22 
			 East Riding 2  1  3 
			 East Sussex 33 
			 Enfield 11 
			 Essex   3 1 4 
			 Gateshead 11 
			 Gloucestershire 1  1 1 3 
			 Hackney 22 
			 Halton 11 
			 Hampshire 4 1   5 
			 Havering  1   1 
			 Herefordshire 11 
			 Hertfordshire   2  2 
			 Hounslow 11 
			 Isle of Wight   1  1 
			 Kent 44 
			 Kirklees   1  1 
			 Knowsley 1  1 1 3 
			 Lambeth 11 
			 Lancashire 4  3 1 8 
			 Leeds 2  1 1 4 
			 Leicester City 66 
			 Leicestershire 11 
			 Lincolnshire 44 
			 Liverpool 11 
			 Manchester 2  1  3 
			 Medway   1  1 
			 Merton 22 
			 Milton Keynes  1 1  2 
			 Newcastle 22 
			 Newham 11 
			 Non-maintained1 1 
			 Norfolk 11 1 2  14 
			 North Yorkshire 1  1  2 
			 Northamptonshire 13  1  14 
			 Northumberland 2  1  3 
			 Nottingham City 11 
			 Nottinghamshire 66 
			 Oxfordshire 33 
			 Peterborough 22 
			 Plymouth 11 
			 Poole 1 1  1 3 
			 Reading 11 
			 Redcar and Cleveland1 1 
			 Rochdale   1  1 
			 Salford 22 
			 Sandwell   1  1 
			 Sheffield 3  1  4 
			 Shropshire 11 
			 Solihull 11 
			 Somerset 1   1 2 
			 Southend 11 
			 Southwark 44 
			 St. Helens 22 
			 Staffordshire 1  1  2 
			 Stockport 11 
			 Stockton on Tees   1  1 
			 Stoke on Trent 22 
			 Suffolk   3  3 
			 Sunderland  1   1 
			 Surrey 2  1  3 
			 Tameside   1  1 
			 Telford and Wrekin1 1 
			 Thurrock 1  1  2 
			 Torbay 11 
			 Trafford 1 1   2 
			 Walsall 3  1  4 
			 Waltham Forest 11 
			 Wandsworth 11 
			 Warrington 11 
			 Warwickshire 33 
			 West Berkshire 11 
			 West Sussex 1 2  1 4 
			 Westminster   1  1 
			 Wigan 1   1 2 
			 Wiltshire 33 
			 Wirral 11 
			 Wolverhampton 11 
			 Worcestershire 1  3  4 
			 Grand Total 178 10 51 15 254

Schools: Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils achieved five good GCSEs in  (a) comprehensive and  (b) independent schools in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2007.

Jim Knight: The information is given in the following table:
	
		
			   1996-97  2006-07 
			   Number of pupils  Percentage achieved GSCEs  5 or more A*-C grades  Number of pupils  Percentage achieved GSCEs  5 or more A*-C grades 
			 Comprehensive schools 465,983 43.6 540,962 59.7 
			 Independent schools 41,874 86.5 48,031 88.3 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for 1996-97 relate to 15-year-olds entered for GCSE/GNVQs. 2. Figures for 2006-07 relate to pupils at the end of KS4. Figures include equivalencies. 3. Figures for 1996-97 were published in 'Statistics for Education, Public Examinations, GCSE/GNVQ and GGE in England, 1997', ISBN 0-11-271037-9. 4. Figures for 2006-07 were published in 'DCSF: GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2006/07 (Revised)' found at http//www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768findex.shtml

Schools: Standards

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what percentage of pupils obtained five good GCSEs including English and mathematics in the 100 least deprived lower super output areas in 2008;
	(2)  what percentage of pupils obtained a GCSE at grade C or above in mathematics in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by decile of the indices of multiple deprivation;
	(3)  what percentage of pupils achieved five good GCSEs including English and mathematics in the 100 most deprived lower super output areas in 2008.

Jim Knight: The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The available information is published in tables 21 to 24 of DCSF: GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2006/07 (Revised) Statistical First Release on attainment by deprivation, rurality and coalfield areas.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of the proportion of children in each local authority who obtained  (a) five or more A* to C GCSEs and  (b) five or more A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics in each year between 1996 and 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information on GCSE and equivalent results by local authority area is contained within table 18 of Statistical First Release (SFR) GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2006/07 (Revised) which was published in January 2008. This SFR can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768/index.shtml.
	A time series for 1997 to 2007 showing the proportion of children in each local authority area who obtained five or more A* to C grades and those who obtained five or more A* to C grades including English and maths has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Figures cover all maintained mainstream schools (including CTCs and academies) and maintained special schools, but exclude hospital schools and pupil referral units.

Schools: Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils had a recorded unauthorised half-day absence while in year  (a) nine,  (b) 10 and  (c) 11 in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The first year for which information is available on absence rates by National Curriculum year group is 2005-06 and relates to secondary schools only. Data from primary and special schools are available from 2006-07.
	The available information relates to the percentage of half days lost by type of absence and is shown in the tables:
	
		
			  State funded secondary schools( 1, 2) : Pupil absence for national curriculum year groups 9,10 and 11, 2005-06, England 
			State funded secondary schools 
			Percentage of half days missed( 4) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 3)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 598,760 6.76 1.30 8.06 
			 10 601,220 6.98 1.84 8.82 
			 11 581,300 8 05 2.43 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. 2. Includes local authority maintained secondary school, city technology colleges and academies. 3. Pupil numbers are as at January 2006. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main registration). Excludes boarders. 4. The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions.  Source  School Census. 
		
	
	
		
			  Primary, Secondary and special schools 1, 2, 3: Pupil absence for national curriculum year groups 9, 10, 11 2006-07: England 
			Primary Schools( 1) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 10 3.90 0.89 4.80 
			 10 20 2.69 0.59 3.29 
			 11 20 2.95 0.51 3.46 
		
	
	
		
			State funded secondary schools ( 1, 2) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 579,140 6.29 1.37 7.66 
			 10 598,630 6.49 1.98 8.47 
			 11 588,340 7.61 2.59 10.19 
		
	
	
		
			Special Schools( 3) 
			Percentage of half days misse d( 5) 
			   Number of day pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 9,710 8.84 2.75 11.59 
			 10 10,340 9.14 3.46 12.60 
			 11 10,110 10.13 4.62 14.75 
			 1 Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. 2. Includes local authority maintained secondary school, city technology colleges and academies. 3. Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. 4. Pupil numbers are as at January 2007. Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 with sole and dual (main registration). Excludes boarders. 5. The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised/overall absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Note: Total may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Secondary Education: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will publish each local authority's latest estimate of the GCSE results of each school in the National Challenge for  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009 and  (c) 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We have no plans to publish local authorities' (LA) estimates of GCSE results for National Challenge schools. The information was provided by LAs on a confidential basis to help us identify which schools are in need of greatest support.
	We have held initial discussions with LAs to agree what level of support should be provided for each of their National Challenge schools. National Challenge advisers will work through the detail of this support with individual schools from November. Once plans are in place, every LA with a National Challenge school will publish a summary for parents and others.

Social Services

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of children under 11 years of age live in families where there has been social services involvement during the child's lifetime.

Beverley Hughes: The most recent Children in Need (CIN) census showed that approximately 120,000 children aged less than 11 years received services from social care in England during a census week in February 2005. This equates to approximately 2 per cent. of all children aged less than 11 years in England.
	The 2005 CIN census (and previous censuses) only provided a snapshot of activity during a typical week in February. It did not give an indication of the involvement of services during a child's lifetime nor did it account for some families having more than one child receiving services included in the census.
	The CIN census has been redeveloped and will be collecting longitudinal information on the characteristics of and services provided to Children in Need. It is anticipated that the first data from the new census will be available in autumn 2009.

Trust Schools

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools have applied to become trust schools;
	(2)  how many foundation schools have  (a) become trust schools and  (b) applied to become trust schools.

Edward Balls: Schools do not have to apply to the Department for Children, School and Families to become a trust or foundation school. A change of school category to foundation and the acquisition of a trust are 'prescribed alterations'. To make such a prescribed alteration, the governing body must publish statutory proposals in accordance with provisions set out in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and regulations made under that Act. Since 25 May 2007, proposals are decided by the governing body (or the schools adjudicator where proposals to acquire a trust have been referred by the local authority). There is no role for Ministers in the decision-making process.
	To date, 106 schools (including 26 foundation schools) have acquired a trust under the provisions of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. In addition, 378 schools (including 53 foundation schools) are on the Trust and Foundation Schools Support programme where they have access to advice and guidance on the processes associated with acquiring a trust.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Breast Cancer

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people have been diagnosed with breast cancer in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2005. Numbers of cases of breast cancer for the years 1997 to 2005 for (a) Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency, (b) South Tyneside County District, (c) the North East Government Office Region and (d) England are given in Table 1 below.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1) : Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, North East government office region and England, 1997-2005 
			 Area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
			 Jarrow 60 42 67 60 54 62 73 59 62 
			 South Tyneside 103 94 105 119 102 104 133 118 120 
			 North East 1,559 1,696 1,683 1,709 1,763 1,749 1,965 1,983 1,985 
			 England 33,720 34,144 35,767 35,027 35,687 35,524 37,725 37,843 38,462 
			 (1) Breast cancer is defined as code C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source: Office for National Statistics

Cancer

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people were diagnosed with cancer in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people have been diagnosed with cancer in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2005. Numbers of cases of cancer for the years 1997 to 2005 for (a) Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency, (b) South Tyneside County District, (c) the North East Government Office Region and (d) England are given in Table 1 below.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of cancer( 1) : Jarrow parliamentary constituency, South Tyneside county district, North East government office region and England, 1997-2005 
			  Area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Jarrow 455 440 465 453 444 469 455 445 468 
			 South Tyneside 810 838 857 888 824 860 871 882 859 
			 North East 12,366 12,912 13,082 13,104 13,455 13,603 13,683 13,501 13,305 
			 England 222,206 222,248 229,217 229,270 232,409 229,908 233,959 238,333 238,977 
			 (1) All cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, defined as codes C00-C97 excluding C44 in the International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source: Office for National Statistics

Childbirth

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which years since 1979 the number of births in England exceeded the number recorded for 2007.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding in which years since 1979 the number of births in England exceeded the number for 2007. (225890)
	In 2007 there were 655,357 live births to mothers usually resident in England. Since 1979 there have been two calendar years with a larger number of births: 1990 and 1991 (with 666,920 and 660,806 live births respectively to mothers usually resident in England).

Death: Colorectal Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) men and  (b) women died of bowel cancer in each calendar year since 1997, broken down (i) by Government region and (ii) by those aged (A) under 30, (B) 30 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) 51 to 60 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many (a) men and (b) women died of bowel cancer in each calendar year since 1997, broken down (i) by Government region and (ii) by those aged (A) under 30, (B) 30 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) 51 to 60 years. (225705)
	The table attached provides the numbers of deaths where bowel cancer was the underlying cause of death in each government office region, for males and females aged (a) under 30, (b) 30 to 40, (c) 41 to 50 and (9) 51 to 60 years, from 1997 to 2007 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths where bowel cancer was the underlying cause of death,( 1)  males and females, government office region and age group, 1997-2007( 2,3) 
			  Area  Age  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Deaths (males) 
			 North East 30 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			  30-40 0 3 3 3 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 
			  41-50 13 14 11 18 14 13 12 9 13 12 13 
			  51-60 57 54 53 57 68 51 50 44 48 35 48 
			  
			 North West 30 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 3 3 1 1 
			  30-40 7 3 4 7 3 7 12 6 7 10 5 
			  41-50 52 34 32 35 27 37 24 21 32 28 38 
			  51-60 133 122 124 115 134 119 132 119 124 111 103 
			  
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 30 4 2 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 4 
			  30-40 6 5 5 4 2 6 7 6 1 6 2 
			  41-50 27 28 22 20 28 21 18 20 23 27 18 
			  51-60 95 86 83 89 70 88 89 81 83 84 83 
			  
			 East Midlands 30 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 
			  30-40 6 4 7 4 4 7 4 4 5 6 7 
			  41-50 16 19 18 17 20 15 25 16 18 19 17 
			  51-60 63 73 68 70 63 76 70 60 60 65 72 
			  
			 West Midlands 30 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 
			  30-40 6 5 7 5 6 5 1 9 6 7 6 
			  41-50 27 31 15 21 24 27 23 26 22 23 18 
			  51-60 101 109 88 97 91 82 100 108 83 85 91 
			  
			 East of England 30 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 2 
			  30-40 5 5 2 1 2 6 9 6 2 8 3 
			  41-50 24 21 19 19 21 19 18 23 28 22 23 
			  51-60 85 81 85 82 78 98 77 75 87 76 78 
			  
			 London 30 4 0 1 4 2 3 2 2 5 5 4 
			  30-40 6 5 8 10 9 9 7 13 5 7 8 
			  41-50 25 42 18 23 22 26 22 30 17 30 26 
			  51-60 78 95 88 83 84 81 106 87 94 81 88 
			  
			 South East 30 0 2 2 0 0 1 2 0 4 2 4 
			  30-40 12 7 8 8 14 12 7 6 5 4 14 
			  41-50 48 41 39 34 41 21 25 28 26 29 39 
			  51-60 117 119 114 100 145 124 123 109 109 144 110 
			  
			 South West 30 0 1 3 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 3 
			  30-40 3 7 3 3 4 8 7 2 3 5 5 
			  41-50 21 13 24 25 22 27 21 20 22 16 21 
			  51-60 77 83 73 66 77 97 72 83 77 70 73 
			  
			 England total 30 11 10 12 13 5 7 10 8 16 18 19 
			  30-40 51 44 47 45 47 61 57 56 37 54 53 
			  41-50 253 243 198 212 219 206 188 193 201 206 213 
			  51-60 806 822 776 759 810 816 819 766 765 751 746 
			  
			  Deaths (females) 
			 North East 30 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 
			  30-40 1 1 1 3 3 3 1 2 0 3 2 
			  41-50 14 10 12 18 7 8 8 10 8 9 14 
			  51-60 33 32 23 31 26 24 29 27 22 24 21 
			  
			 North West 30 0 2 0 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 
			  30-40 10 2 10 10 7 9 4 9 7 3 7 
			  41-50 29 28 26 29 29 17 23 20 24 25 30 
			  51-60 74 84 85 88 68 65 58 69 79 78 77 
			  
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 30 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 
			  30-40 6 5 4 4 3 2 7 7 3 7 5 
			  41-50 25 13 18 18 17 17 10 12 11 17 16 
			  51-60 64 45 42 54 44 43 53 50 52 49 53 
			  
			 East Midlands 30 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 
			  30-40 2 4 4 7 7 2 5 1 1 1 2 
			  41-50 14 18 10 11 14 13 22 16 20 17 15 
			  51-60 41 50 51 42 40 48 50 37 36 44 42 
			  
			 West Midlands 30 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 
			  30-40 3 4 6 4 4 3 8 6 8 6 5 
			  41-50 19 22 28 21 9 ' 20 16 21 23 16 19 
			  51-60 73 70 75 46 72 60 59 63 48 44 53 
			  
			 East of England 30 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 
			  30-40 4 1 5 7 5 4 2 2 4 4 3 
			  41-50 25 22 20 13 20 21 18 20 20 17 21 
			  51-60 53 64 54 61 56 59 79 70 69 51 45 
			  
			 London 30 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 2 1 3 4 
			  30-40 7 13 12 8 8 13 10 14 10 8 5 
			  41-50 17 21 20 20 23 14 23 17 24 21 26 
			  51-60 66 58 47 68 58 54 61 60 55 65 69 
			  
			 South East 30 0 2 3 2 1 1 3 2 3 3 6 
			  30-40 7 9 4 7 6 8 1 10 8 11 5 
			  41-50 32 32 28 25 28 23 21 28 20 39 34 
			  51-60 81 84 79 73 80 81 89 75 81 77 91 
			  
			 South West 30 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 
			  30-40 0 2 4 5 2 4 0 0 3 3 2 
			  41-50 15 13 23 10 12 18 13 9 17 19 18 
			  51-60 37 47 52 45 48 56 55 46 47 61 55 
			  
			 England total 30 6 6 10 11 9 2 10 9 9 13 19 
			  30-40 40 41 50 55 45 48 38 51 44 46 36 
			  41-50 190 179 185 165 159 151 154 153 167 180 193 
			  51-60 522 534 508 508 492 490 533 497 489 493 506 
			 (1) Cause of death for bowel cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 153-154 for 1997 to 2000 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C18-C21 for 2001 to 2007. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2008. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Social Enterprise Action Plan across Government.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) continuously monitors delivery and effectiveness of the Social Enterprise Action Plan both through OTS internal channels and through a project board which has representation from across Government and the sector.
	Social Enterprise Action Plan, an evaluation of the first year of the social enterprise action plan was published in November 2007. This report is available from the following website and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/social_enterprise_action_plan_one_year_on%20pdf.ashx
	OTS intends to publish a similar document highlighting progress on the implementation of the Social Enterprise Action Plantwo years onby the end of this year.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on social enterprise.

Kevin Brennan: I intend to meet with Treasury ministerial colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues which impact on social enterprise and the third sector more generally.
	The Office of the Third Sector is working closely with HM Treasury on the delivery of commitments in the Third Sector Review and Social Enterprise Action Plan; on co-operatives; and on social investment.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the community investment tax relief scheme in respect of social enterprise activities.

Kevin Brennan: No formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR) scheme has been made. The aim of the CITR scheme is to incentivise private investment from individuals and companies in financially excluded small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within or serving disadvantaged communities. 47 million has been invested in Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) through CITR.
	Research by the Community Development Finance Association suggests that about half the loans (by value) made by CDFIs are to social enterprises. In practice, however, some CDFIs such as Big Issue Invest or the Social Enterprise Loan Fund only lend to social enterprises.
	The recent operational review of CITR, announced in the Government's Social Enterprise Action Plan, indicated that with most of the more active CDFIs engaged in financing only charitable or social enterprises, CITR has contributed to an improvement in the financing provision for social enterprises.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the outcome of the cross-departmental third sector public services action plan has been in respect of social enterprise.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) monitors delivery and effectiveness of the Public Services Action Plan continuously both through OTS internal channels and through a steering group which has representation from across government and the third sector (of which social enterprise is an integral part). Key outcomes so far include: a national programme of training and professional development for public sector commissioners, in which social enterprise ambassadors have been closely involved; support for innovation through the Innovation Exchange; investing in capital development through Futurebuilders; and improving the sustainability of the sector by making three-year funding the norm rather than the exception, including for social enterprises.
	Partnership in Public Services: The Public Services Action Plan, an evaluation of the first year of the public services action plan was published in December 2007. This report is available on the OTS website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/psap_one_year_on_web_final_2%20pdf.ashx
	and copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. OTS intends to publish a similar document highlighting our successes on the implementation of the Public Services Action Plan by the end of this year.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what deficiencies he has identified in  (a) regional,  (b) sub-regional,  (c) local and  (d) sectoral social enterprise networks; and what steps he (i) has taken and (ii) plans to take to address such deficiencies.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector commissioned research into social enterprise networks from Rocket Science UK. The resulting Review of Social Enterprise Networks is on the following Cabinet Office website and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/080328_social_enterprise.aspx
	The report identifies national, regional, sub-regional and local networks and makes recommendations on how gaps might be addressed. In response, we are investing 6 million during 2008-11, through Capacitybuilders, to develop the capacity of social enterprise infrastructure organisations.
	Capacitybuilders is working with social enterprise networks in each region and other local partners to identify the best ways to meet local needs.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the 10 million social co-investment risk capital fund for social enterprise is to be used; and what Government funding sources are available for social enterprise start-ups.

Kevin Brennan: The 10 million risk capital fund will be used to invest in social enterprises, matched by co-investors. This will demonstrate the viability of investment in social enterprises; improve access to equity funding for new and growing social enterprises; demonstrate that there are meaningful numbers of investors interested in making commercial investment in the area of social enterprise; and develop equity funding instruments that can be used when making investments into social enterprises.
	Wider government support for social enterprise start-ups includes the Department for Health's Social Enterprise Investment Fund. Other funding and finance available to social enterprises includes the Futurebuilders Fund, the Adventure Capital Fund, the forthcoming Communitybuilders fund and UnLtdthe foundation for social entrepreneurs. Each of these organisations aim to address a particular niche in the diversity of demand for finance among social enterprise.

Non-profit Making Associations

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which  (a) regions and  (b) council areas have the (i) highest and (ii) lowest number of registered social enterprises; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: Social enterprises are not defined by particular legal forms. Rather, they are defined by their nature: their social/environmental aims and outcomes; the basis on which their social mission is embedded in their structure and governance; and the way they use the profits they generate through trading. Social enterprises are not, therefore, required to register with any one body. Information on the number of registered social enterprises in any particular area is consequently not available.

Shareholders

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what his latest estimate is of the number of individuals in the UK who own shares.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the latest estimate is of the number of individuals in the UK who own shares (225371).
	According to a survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 2006/07, 12% of people aged 16 or over in Great Britain held shares other than employee shares or share options and 5% held employee shares or share options. Applying these percentages to the mid-2006 population estimates suggests that 5.7 million people held shares other than employee shares or share options and 2.4 million people held employee shares or share options. These figures should not be added together to estimate the total number of people in Great Britain owning shares, as some individuals may own both types of share. The estimates do not include any indirect investment in shares through for example ISAs, unit trusts or pension funds.
	The proportions of individuals holding shares are based on data collected from the Household Assets Survey, which is a new longitudinal survey that collects information about the economic well being of households and individuals in Great Britain. The proportions were among statistics published in the interim report in January 2008, based on half the Wave 1 sample (16,000 households) and labelled as experimental statistics. Experimental statistics are in the testing phase arid not fully developed as they do not yet meet the rigorous quality standards of National Statistics.

Unemployment: Lincolnshire

Elliot Morley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of children in North Lincolnshire live in households where neither parent is in employment.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on what percentage of children in North Lincolnshire live in households where neither parent is in employment. (224948)
	Using the Annual Population Survey (APS) household dataset for the period January to December 2007, 14.7 per cent of children in North Lincolnshire lived in a workless household, which is a household where at least one person is of working age and no adults in the household are employed.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results. This estimate is such that there is 95 per cent certainty that from all samples possible it will lie within the range 9.3 per cent to 20.2 per cent.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Public Participation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what  (a) listening exercises and  (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and who the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case.

Shaun Woodward: In 2007-08 the Northern Ireland Office held the following listening exercises and public forums:
	
		
			  2007-08 
			  Number organised  Purpose  Private contractor  Cost 
			  Listening Exercises
			 4 To consult with older people on the Government's Proposals for the Safety of Older People. Age Concern and Help the Aged 1,828.37 for all 4 events 
			 
			  Public Forums
			 5(1) Promote awareness of the consultation paper Hidden Crime, Secret Pain and outline key issues and strategic objectives to also coincide with the public consultation on developing proposals for a Regional Strategy on Addressing Sexual Violence in Northern Ireland. None n/a 
			 2(2) To consult with various groups and the general public on the NIO Disability Action Plan. None n/a 
			 (1) Organised jointly between the NIO and Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. (2) One event was organised jointly between the NIO and Criminal Justice Agencies. The other event was organised jointly between the NIO and Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments. 
		
	
	 2006 - 07
	There were no listening exercises or public forums.